Valentine's Day 2022: Spending expected to near $24B
More than half of US consumers are planning to celebrate Valentine's Day despite rising inflation
The nation's largest retail trade group estimated that consumers are going to collectively dole out nearly $24 billion on Valentine's Day this year, marking the second-highest year on record.
This year's projection is an increase from the $21.8 billion consumers spent in 2021, according to an annual survey by National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. However, this year's projection falls just short of the $24.7 billion spent in 2020.
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The NRF's data comes just after holiday spending in 2021 grew 14.1% over the prior year to a record $886.7 billion.
"Following the historic level of consumer spending over the winter holidays, it appears that the trend will continue into 2022," NRF CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.
Young people celebrating Valentine’s Day. (iStock / iStock)
More than half of U.S. consumers – 53% – are planning to celebrate Valentine's Day this year, according to the NRF. Of those celebrating, 76% indicated how important the holiday is "given the current state of the pandemic."
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Each individual shopper is projected to spend an average of $175.41 on gifts, an increase from $164.76 in 2021, despite inflation hitting a nearly 40-year high.
While candy, greeting cards and flowers remain the most popular gifts, the demand for gifting experiences, such as concert or sporting event tickets, "returned to pre-pandemic levels," according to the survey.
Just over 40% of consumers would "love to receive a gift of experience," up from 36% in 2021, according to the NRF.
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Meanwhile, about 31% of consumers are already planning to gift an "evening out" this year, up from 24% in 2021.
"While traditional Valentine’s Day gifts like candy and flowers seem to never go out of style, gift givers and recipients alike are more comfortable heading out for a special meal or participating in a new experience than they were a year ago," Phil Rist, Prosper Insights executive vice president of strategy, said.
Rist said "this is especially true among younger age groups."