Valentine's Day spend to surge in UK, Saturday kicks off the season

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 3, 2017

This weekend should mark the start of the Valentine’s day shopping season in the UK with Britons expected to spend £28m on what has been dubbed Red Saturday. And they are predicted to spend over £713m for the season as a whole.

A new survey of 1,200 consumers conducted by TNS for dating website eHarmony said that over 1m people would be shopping for Valentine’s in stores on February 4.

For the complete season, the average spend among those celebrating the day is set to be £22.58, with those in Scotland (£31), London (£26) and the North West (£23) spending the most, while those in Wales and the West (£17) will spend the least.

In addition, more people intend to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, with 13% more people saying they’ll mark the occasion compared with 2016.

Breaking down the spend further, the biggest outlay (23% of total Valentine’s spend) will be on dining with £163m spent. But jewellery will account for 11% of spend at £77m, other gifts for 10% at £63m and clothing for 8% at £56m.

However, just over a quarter of Britons (28%) think Valentine’s Day is a waste of money and 9% of those in a relationship admit that they would ignore Valentine’s Day if they could be sure their partner would agree with the decision.
 
eHarmony UK spokesperson Rachael Lloyd said: “Red Saturday sees a huge boom in consumer spending as Brits prepare for Valentine’s Day. However, it has to be said Valentine’s Day can feel pretty isolating if you’re single, and just over a quarter of people would rather not celebrate.”