Valentine’s Day is a $23.9 billion industry in the US, making it one of the most prominent holidays celebrated every year. Even single people can’t escape this holiday, often buying the on-sale chocolate or candy at stores a day or 2 later. According to some statistics, men generally spend double what a woman spends on gifts for the occasion, which became evident after the numerous videos circulated of men buying last minute V-day flowers and getting charged 3 or 4 times the average price for them. All while the song ‘Flowers’ by Miley Cyrus chimed around them, insisting that their loved one could do it for themselves.
This year it was projected that Americans will spend close to $26 billion on Valentine’s Day, up 2 billion from the year before. Stats from the National Retail Federation claim that it may be due to the pandemic and people feeling more freedom to spend this year.
It appears we love to be in love or at least show that we are in love.
One of the most modern stats I found online was from Finder.com, that analyzed that over 72.5 million pet owners will also be buying gifts for their fluffy partners for Valentine’s Day. Millennials make up the largest portion of that number as they continue to spoil their fur babies in lieu of a human one.
According to the stats on FullyVested, about 41% of Americans would have preferred an experience as a gift this year in comparison to the normal flower or chocolate gifts.
FML and I fall into the Millennial generation, although he’s a bit of a Gen Zer at heart (he watches Twitch while I have one.)
I guess FML and I are proving the stats right this year because not only did we spoil the dog, but I also bought him concert tickets and he waited in line at the flower shop while listening to Miley Cyrus.
The saddest stat that I came across was the number spent on unwanted V-day gifts each year.
Over $9.5 billion is spent, according to WalletHub, and wasted. The least-desired gifts on their list included things like tools, gym memberships, sporting equipment, kitchen appliances, cheesy stuffed animals, and mixtapes. (Hopefully, you didn’t shop this list in 2023. Comment below if you did and what you bought!)
JustineFraser.com 