Valentine's Day spending 2024 [UPDATED]

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Nothing says Valentine’s Day like red roses — so much so that we’ll be shelling out about $2.89 billion on roses in 2024, according to the latest research conducted by Finder.com.

How much does a dozen roses cost?

As it stands, wholesale prices⁽¹⁾ for roses are 12.31% higher in 2024 than in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day in 2023.

Lucy Sandler, one of the owners of House of Blooms in New Jersey, told Finder that while every shop is different, as a general rule of thumb, you can expect to see the flowers marked up around 3.5X.

So, with wholesale prices currently sitting at around $18.50 for a bunch of 10 roses, Finder is projecting that the average cost for a dozen roses will be $76.65 in 2024, up from $68.25 in 2023.

Here’s how the total adds up:

Other Valentine’s Day stats

While prices are on their way up, the number of people buying roses is headed in the other direction. Back in 2007, 63% of American adults said they’d be celebrating Valentine’s Day compared to 53% in 2024, according to the National Retailers Federation (NRF).⁽²⁾

While flowers are synonymous with Valentine’s Day, candy is the top choice for gift-givers at 57%. In fact, it’s been the top choice for Valentine’s Day shoppers since 2016, when it dethroned greeting cards, which has been in the second spot ever since.

Americans will be shelling out $25.8 billion on Valentine’s Day gifts in 2024, according to the NRF. About 55% of that spending, $14.2 billion, will be spent on a significant other.

Finder reviewed wholesale data from the USDA to get a baseline cost for roses from 2014-2024. We used the bunched 10s pricing, divided that figure to get the single stem price and then multiplied by 12 for the cost of a dozen.
To get the standard markup, Finder spoke with a florist and a flower grower and reviewed the markups and pricing strategies from Florist Review, which gave a figure of 3.5X.
- Lucy Sandler, one of the owners of House of Bloom
- Jessie Babbitt, flower grower at b.a.r.e. flower farm
According to the National Retailers Federation (NRF), 53% of American adults will be buying something on Valentine’s Day in 2024, with 39% planning on buying flowers, which gives us roughly 54 million adults.
According to RIO Roses, 70% of flowers bought on Valentine’s Day are roses.

Sources

Previous Finder Valentine’s Day surveys

Roses are red. Violets are blue. But when did Valentine’s Day become a celebration for more than two? In 2021, 32.9 million Americans — or 12.89% of the adult population — plan to buy a Valentine’s Day gift for more than one romantic partner, according to a recent survey from Finder.com. Maybe the global pandemic and the inability to go out freely has something to do with a drop of more than half when compared to 2020’s 26.77% of adults who planned to buy a gift for more than one romantic partner last year.

Men are more likely than women to shop for more than one partner, with 20.07% of men saying they will purchase a Valentine’s Day gift for more than one romantic partner, compared to only 6.36% of women.

Gender - Who's buying a Valentine's Day gift for more than on partner? - visual
Gender - What credit card purchases do you make for the rewards program? – data

Gender	Yes	No
Men	20.07%	79.93%
Women	6.36%	93.64%

Gen Z leads the pack of those shopping for more than one romantic partner, with 22.16% of the generation — or 5.8 million Gen Zers — saying they would purchase a Valentine’s gift for more than one romantic partner.

Generation - Who's buying a Valentine's Day gift for more than on partner? - visual
Generation - What credit card purchases do you make for the rewards program? – data

Generation	Yes	No
Gen Z	22.16%	77.84%
Millennials	18.16%	81.84%
Gen X	20.38%	79.62%
Baby boomers	2.91%	97.09%
Silent gen	2.29%	97.71%

Where are people getting their gifts?

Those who plan to double dip on Valentine’s gift giving don’t make up the whole present-buying pie. In 2021, roughly 161.8 million people will buy gifts for their Valentine, 11.02% less people than last year, and where they’re shopping may surprise you.

Where are you buying Valentine's Day gifts? - visual
Where are you buying Valentine's Day gifts? – data

Retailer	% of respondents that are buying Valentine’s Day gifts
Amazon	36.55%
Brick-and-mortar store	36.37%
Make it yourself/DIY	16.48%
Other online retailer	10.60%

Undoubtedly influenced by the global pandemic, Amazon narrowly beats out brick-and-mortar stores as the top source for Valentine’s Day gifts, with 36.55% of people planning on buying a Valentine’s Day gift saying they will buy their gifts from Amazon compared to 36.37% who say they will buy from a brick-and-mortar store. An additional 10.60% of gifters say they will purchase presents from an online retailer other than Amazon, meaning nearly half of all Americans (47.15%) shopping for Valentine’s Day gifts will get their gifts online in 2021. More people also plan on DIY-ing their Valentine’s Day gifts than last year, with 16.48 of Valentine’s gifters choosing to create their own gift.

Who’s buying Valentine’s Day gifts?

More men than women are planning on purchasing gifts for Valentine’s Day, with 82.2 million men saying they’ll buy Valentine’s gifts compared to 79.5 million women.

Men vs Women: Are you buying Valentine's Day gift? - visual
Men vs Women: Are you buying Valentine's Day gift? – data

Gender	Purchasing gifts	Not purchasing gifts
Men	67.68%	32.32%
Women	59.49%	40.51%

As to where people will get their gifts, men are more likely than women to pick up presents from a brick-and-mortar store or on Amazon, whereas far more women than men plan to make their own gifts.

Men vs Women: Where are you buying Valentine's Day gifts? - visual
Men vs Women: Where are you buying your Valentine's Day gifts? – data

Source of gifts	Men	Women
Amazon	38.45%	34.58%
Brick-and-mortar store	39.14%	33.51%
Make it yourself/DIY	12.41%	20.68%
Other online retailer	10.00%	11.23%

Generational Valentine’s Day buying habits

Gen Z and millennials are neck-to-neck for the most likely to shop on Amazon for St. Valentine’s, with 44.85% of Gen Zers and 44.23% of millennials who are planning on buying Valentine’s gifts looking to the retail giant for a Valentine’s Day gift this year. At the other end of the spectrum are boomers, among whom 57.42% of gifters plan to buy from a brick-and-mortar store and a further 43.64% say they won’t buy anything.

Generations: Where are you buying your Valentine's Day gifts? - visual
Generations: Where are you buying your Valentine's Day gifts? – data

Source of gifts	Gen Z	Millennial	Gen X	Baby boomers	Silent gen
Amazon	44.85%	44.23%	39.93%	23.23%	25.81%
Brick-and-mortar store	17.65%	22.82%	33.81%	57.42%	61.29%
Make it yourself/DIY	31.62%	22.25%	15.11%	7.42%	1.61%
Other online retailer	5.88%	10.70%	11.15%	11.94%	11.29%

Spending big on Valentine’s Day

With 161.8 million planning to buy a gift in 2021, it may not surprise you that February 14th is big business. Americans will spend roughly $27.9 billion on gifts this year, each gift averaging $187.

Where that money is spent and on whom varies widely. Girlfriends and wives luck out on Valentine’s, with people spending an average of $106 on gifts for their wives and $85 on gifts for their girlfriends. These values are almost double the average amount spent on husbands ($67) or boyfriends ($54).

Who is spent on the most for Valentine's Day? - visual
Who is spent on the most for Valentine's Day? – data

Categories	Average spend
Wife	$106
Girlfriend	$85
Kids	$76
Other family members	$73
Husband	$67
Secret	$56
Boyfriend	$54
Friends	$51
Pet dog	$31
Pet cat	$27

In 2021, men are expected to spend $6.2 billion more on Valentine’s gifts than women, spending an expected $17.1 billion for men compared to $10.8 billion for women.

As far as the average gift, men will spend almost double that of more than women. Of those who plan to spend on Valentine’s Day gifts, men say they’ll spend an average of $225.49 compared to $147.42 women plan to spend. Women are expected to outspend men in the recipient categories: Husband, Boyfriend, Secret and Pet cat.

Men vs Women: How much are you spending for Valentine's Day on various recipients? – visual
Men vs Women: How much are you spending for Valentine's Day on various recipients? – data

Category	Men	Women
Husband	$64.07	$68.10
Wife	$106.85	$101.51
Boyfriend	$40.31	$64.46
Girlfriend	$86.50	$73.12
Secret	$54.25	$60.89
Pet dog	$33.62	$27.54
Pet cat	$26.80	$28.36
Friends	$58.40	$41.54
Kids	$78.56	$74.54
Other family members	$81.08	$64.25

Millennials are expected to spend the most among the generations on Valentine’s Day gifts, dropping some $9.9 billion in 2021, representing almost 36% of all Valentine’s spending.

On a per-gift basis, Gen Z is expected to spend the most on average on other family members ($81), Gen X is expected to spend the most on their wives ($106), baby boomers are expected to spend the most on their girlfriends ($123) and the silent generation is expected to spend the most on average on their kids ($80).

Generations: Where are you buying your Valentine's Day gifts? - visual
Generations: How much are you spending on Valentine's Day for various recipients? – data

Categories	Gen Z	Millennial	Gen X	Baby boomers	Silent gen
Husband	$58.52	$75.16	$71.44	$55.90	$30.26
Wife	$58.68	$130.04	$105.97	$103.19	$59.12
Boyfriend	$60.09	$54.26	$43.68	$70.01	$0.96
Girlfriend	$71.06	$92.81	$71.86	$123.47	$51.14
Secret	$54.42	$66.21	$44.31	$93.20	$13.90
Pet dog	$27.06	$37.68	$30.68	$26.93	$9.75
Pet cat	$23.91	$30.16	$26.98	$29.52	$7.30
Friends	$48.67	$56.33	$49.52	$44.49	$44.32
Kids	$74.92	$69.07	$90.77	$67.40	$79.95
Other family members	$80.94	$83.19	$70.27	$58.28	$65.06

What are people doing for Valentine’s Day?

In a shift from last year, Americans are planning on spending less on V-Day activities and more on gifts this year. In 2021, Americans will spend $21.9 billion on Valentine’s Day activities, 29% less than last year.

Anticipated spending on Valentine’s Day activities dropped in all categories except for hair, makeup or beauty. Americans plan on spending $2.5 billion on hair, makeup or beauty activities for Valentine’s Day, 29% more than last year. Unsurprisingly, Travel saw the largest drop, with Americans planning to spend 64% on V-Day travel than last year.

Year over year comparison: How much are you spending on Valentine's Day activities? – visual
Year over year comparison: How much are you spending on Valentine's Day activities? – data

V-Day activity	Total spend in 2020	Total spend in 2021	% decrease
Dining out	%10.9 billion	$8.5 billion	-22%
Entertainment	$4.3 billion	$3.8 billion	-10%
New outfit	$3.9 billion	$3.6 billion	-9%
Travel	$9.7 billion	$3.5 billion	-64%
Hair, makeup or beauty	$1.9 billion	$2.5 billion	29%

Women are expected to outspend men for travel, a new outfit, and for hair, makeup or beauty. Men are expected to outspend women for dining out and entertainment.

Men vs Women: How much are you spending on Valentine's Day activities? - visual
Men vs Women: How much are you spending on Valentine's Day activities? - data

Category	Men	Women
Travel	$99.97	$123.73
Dining out	$79.19	$66.83
New outfit	$62.17	$67.33
Hair, makeup or beauty	$43.66	$53.20
Entertainment	$59.89	$49.28

Travel is where big money is spent this Valentine’s Day, led by the silent gen in average amount splashed. The average silent generation expected to spend $206 in 2021, followed by baby boomers at an average of $120.

Generation: How much are you spending on Valentine's Day activities? – visual
Generation: How much are you spending on Valentine's Day activities? – data

Category	Gen Z	Millennial	Gen X	Baby boomers	Silent gen
Travel	$75.76	$109.65	$108.46	$120.08	$205.50
Dining out	$58.59	$77.33	$73.20	$79.46	$64.28
New outfit	$59.66	$70.73	$51.83	$86.57	$55.31
Hair, makeup or beauty	$41.15	$56.24	$38.98	$58.68	$47.68
Entertainment	$39.72	$65.84	$50.51	$60.93	$44.90

Valentine’s Day spending to hit $50 billion in 2021

All told, Americans are planning to spend roughly $50 billion for Valentine’s Day in 2021, combining $27.9 billion on gifts and $21.9 billion on activities.

Men are expected to foot slightly more of the Valentine’s Day bill spending approximately $30.1 billion on the day, with women planning to spend $19.7 billion.

Among the generations, millennials will take the brunt of Valentine’s Day spending, expected to spend $22.3 billion.

Men vs Women: Total anticipated spend for Valentine's Day - visual
Men vs Women: Total anticipated spend for Valentine's Day - data

Types of spending	Men	Women
Gifts	$17.1 billion	$10.8 billion
Activities	$13 billion	$8.9 billion

Among the generations, millennials will take the brunt of Valentine’s Day spending, expected to spend $18.4 billion.

If you’re planning (or re-planning!) your dream wedding this year, here are a few great tips from Anna Serio, Finder’s Certified Commercial Loan Officer.

Anna Serio
Certified Commercial Loan Officer, Finder

How to budget for a wedding

“Before you budget for a wedding, first think about how much you are willing to spend and use that as your starting point. This might involve a conversation with you and your partner’s families, if they plan on contributing.”

“From there, you can figure out how to spend those funds. Experts generally recommend that you spend 50% of the cost on the venue and catering — including that open bar. You’ll also need to set aside money for photography and video, hair and makeup — usually around 10% each, though it depends. Also make sure to have funds for decor, entertainment — and don’t forget the officiant or wedding bands.”

“If you don’t have time to save and you don’t have all the money you need to cover your expenses, consider taking out a loan instead of putting it on a credit card. A credit card can be useful for one-off expenses. But they come with higher interest rates than loans. And since loans come with fixed amounts, it’s harder to overspend.”

Tips to save when planning your dream wedding

“Making saving as easy as possible is a great way to make sure you reach your goal. When I’m saving for a big goal, I like to figure out how much I can set aside from each paycheck and have that amount automatically deposited into a dedicated savings account each month. You might be able to do this through your employer’s payroll company or your savings account. It’s a lot easier to stay on budget when you have to go out of your way to access the money you wanted to set aside.”

Methodology

Finder’s data is based on an online survey of 1,800 US adults born between 1928 and 2002 commissioned by Finder and conducted by Pureprofile in September 2020. Participants were paid volunteers.

We assume the participants in our survey represent the US population of 254.7 million Americans who are at least 18 years old according to the July 2019 US Census Bureau estimate. This assumption is made at the 95% confidence level with a 2.32% margin of error.

The survey asked respondents where they planned on buying Valentine’s Day gifts, how much they planned to spend on gifts, how much they planned to spend on activities, and whether they were planning on purchasing a Valentine’s Day gift for more than one romantic partner.

Average calculations of spending were based on only the participants who were planning on spending in that particular category — for example, to calculate mean spending on Valentine’s gifts for girlfriends, participants who selected “Not purchasing gifts for Valentines Day” and participants indicated that they were spending “0” on their girlfriends were not included.

We define generations by birth year according to the Pew Research Center’s generational guidelines:

Gen Z — 1997-2002
Millennials — 1981-1996
Gen X — 1965-1980
Baby boomers — 1946-1964
Silent generation — 1928-1945

February 5, 2020
Roses are red. Violets are blue. But when did Valentine’s Day become a celebration for more than two? In 2020, 68.2 million Americans — or 26.77% of the adult population — plan to buy a Valentine’s Day gift for more than one romantic partner, according to a recent survey from Finder.com.
Men are more likely than women to shop for more than one partner, with 35.50% of men saying they will purchase a Valentine’s Day gift for more than one romantic partner, compared to 21.03% of women.
Millennials make up a large chunk of those shopping for more than one romantic partner, with 36.46% of the generation — or 31.1 million millennials — saying they would purchase a Valentine’s gift for more than one romantic partner.
Where are people getting their gifts?
Those who plan to double dip on Valentine’s gift giving don’t make up the whole present-buying pie. In 2020, roughly 181.8 million people will buy gifts for their Valentine, and where they’re shopping may surprise you.
While the No. 1 source for Valentine’s Day gifts is from brick-and-mortars, with 39.96% of people planning to run into a physical store, 37.43% say they will buy their gifts from Amazon, with a further 7.37% saying they will purchase presents from a different online retailer. It means that nearly half of all Americans shopping for Valentine’s Day will get their gifts online in 2020.
Who’s buying Valentine’s Day gifts?
More men than women are planning on purchasing gifts for Valentine’s Day, with 92.4 million men saying they’ll buy Valentine’s gifts compared to 77.7 million women.
As to where people will get their gifts, men are more likely than women to pick up presents from a brick-and-mortar store, whereas far more women than men plan to make their own gifts.
Generational Valentine’s Day buying habits
Millennials are far and away the most likely to shop on Amazon for St. Valentine’s, with 39% looking to the retail giant for a Valentine’s Day gift this year. At the other end of the spectrum are boomers, among whom 40% plan to buy from a brick-and-mortar store and a further 52% say they won’t buy anything.
Spending big on Valentine’s Day
With 181.9 million planning to buy a gift in 2020, it may not surprise you that February 14th is big business. Americans will spend roughly $19.2 billion on gifts this year, each gift averaging $110.
Where that money is spent and on whom varies widely. Girlfriends and wives luck out on Valentine’s, with the average girlfriend gifted a present worth $126 and the average wife’s gift costing $122. These values are more than double the average amount spent on husbands ($56) or boyfriends ($51).
In 2020, men are expected to spend $3.6 billion more on Valentine’s gifts than women, spending an expected $11.4 billion for men compared to $7.8 for women.
As far as the average gift, men will spend almost double that of women. Of those who plan to spend on Valentine’s Day gifts, men say they’ll spend an average of $153.65 compared to $77.89 women plan to spend. Women are expected to outspend men in only one of the nine gift recipient categories: boyfriend.
Millennials are expected to spend the most among the generations on Valentine’s Day gifts, dropping some $8.4 billion in 2020, representing almost 44% of all Valentine’s spending.
On a per-gift basis, Gen X is expected to spend the most on average on their wives> ($157) and girlfriends ($150), and the Silent Generation is expected to spend the most on average on other family members ($150).
What are people doing for Valentine’s Day?
It’s not just gift giving that’s big on Valentine’s Day. Plenty of people plan to take up romantic activities and getaways. In addition to the $19.2 billion Americans will spend on gifts, another $30.7 billion will be spent on Valentine’s Day activities.
Travel is the priciest item on Valentine’s Day, with people expected to spend about $299 on a romantic getaway, followed by new outfits ($85) and dining out ($79).
Women are expected to outspend men by almost twice as much on travel expenses, with women saying they’ll spend about $394, compared to the $218 men say they’ll spend. However, men are expected to outspend women in all other categories.
Travel is where big money is spent this Valentine’s Day, led by Gen Z in total cash splashed. The average Zer expected to spend a whopping $553 in 2020, followed by Gen X at an average of $406.
Valentine’s Day spending to hit $50 billion in 2020
All told, Americans are planning to spend roughly $50 billion for Valentine’s Day in 2020, combining $19.2 billion on gifts and $30.7 billion on activities.
Men are expected to foot slightly more of the Valentine’s Day bill spending approximately $26.1 billion on the day, with women planning to spend $23.9 billion.
Methodology
Our data is based on an online survey of 2,398 US adults born between 1928 and 2002. The survey was commissioned by Finder and conducted by Pureprofile in January 2020. Participants were paid volunteers.
We assume the 2,398 participants in our survey represent the US population of 254.7 million Americans who are at least 18 years old according to the July 2019 US Census Bureau estimate. This assumption was made at the 95% confidence level with a 2% margin of error.
Finder’s survey asked:
- Will you be purchasing a Valentine gift for more than one romantic partner?
- Where will you purchase gifts for Valentines Day?
- On average, how much are you planning to spend on gifts for family and friends for Valentine’s Day?
- How much will you be spending on other Valentine’s Day activities?
We based our average spending calculations on only the participants who said they planned on spending in that particular category — for example, to calculate mean spending on Valentine’s gifts for girlfriends, we did not include the 28.59% of participants who selected “Not purchasing gifts for Valentines Day” and the 62.91% who responded “$0.”
We calculated total Valentine’s Day gift spending based on estimated spending in the categories of:
- Girlfriend
- Wife
- Husband
- Boyfriend
- Secret
- Other Family Members
- Friend
- Pet Dog
- Pet Cat
We calculated total Valentine’s Day spending on activities based on estimated spending in the categories of:
- Travel
- New outfit
- Dining out
- Entertainment
- Hair/makeup/beauty
To avoid skewing the data, we did not include extreme outliers in our calculations.
We define generations by birth year according to the Pew Research Center’s generational guidelines:
- Gen Z — 1997–2002
- Millennials — 1981–1996
- Gen X — 1965–1980
- Baby Boomers — 1946–1964
- Silent Generation — 1928–1945

January 27, 2019

Roses are red. Violets are blue. If you don’t spend big on Valentine’s Day, your partner might end things with you.

It’s expected that more than half (53%) of all Americans will pull out all the stops this February 14th, spending a collective $30 billion on all manner of heart-shaped treats and experiences.

However, signs point to Lotharios tightening the old purse strings in 2019, with spending on Valentine’s Day down 10%, falling from $30.3 billion in 2018 to $30 billion in 2019.

So who’s spending what on whom?

If you’re one of the 53% of Americans planning to spend on someone for Valentine’s Day, I hope you’ve got deep pockets: The average person is expected to spend $221.34.

As far as the spending battle between the sexes, 62% of men expect to spend for a loved one, versus only 45% of women who say the same. That said, it’s little surprise that those spending on their wives will pay the most in 2019 at an average of $357.96 — 73.5% higher than the $206.23 those spending on their husbands. There’s a similar divide between boyfriends and girlfriends, who say they’ll spend $231.55 and $105.02, respectively.

Who are we buying for?	Average amount spent
Wife	$357.90
Kids	$280.07
Myself	$235.56
Girlfriend	$231.55
Friends	$208.10
Husband	$206.23
Secret	$160.13
Other family members	$146.24
Boyfriend	$105.02
Pet cat	$95.90
Pet dog	$81.56

Who else is expected to be showered in love on Valentine’s Day? Rounding out the top three recipients are kids at $280.07, followed by those spending gifts for themselves at $235.56.

Gen Y is crazy in love … with buying Valentine’s Day gifts

For the second straight year, Gen Y leads the way with V-Day gifts, with 63% of these little cupids planning to buy a gift. Gen X closely follows at 57%, with baby boomers a distant third at only 39% who plan to buy a gift.

Saying “I do” to Valentine’s Day

Those who’ve taken the plunge or in a domestic partnership are most likely to spend on their partner for Valentine’s Day, with 66% planning to participate. Interestingly, those who were separated are the next group most likely to spend on February 14th at 52%. Singles ready to mingle round out the top three at 39%.

Valentine’s Day grinches

Roughly 43 million Americans — about 17% of the population — will get an unwanted Valentine’s Day gift in 2019. This calculates to about $9.5 billion spent on gifts nobody wants.

February 8, 2018

We love to spend money on our friends and family for Valentine’s Day, no matter if they’re a significant other, our beloved pets or even ourselves. But how much does the day really cost — and just who are we shelling out for this February 14th?

Who’s spending money on Valentine’s Day 2018?

More than 151 million Americans plan to drop money on Valentine’s Day this year. A higher proportion of men — 66.6% of them — say they’ll profess their love with a gift, compared with 56.8% of women who will. As for generations, the younger you are, the more likely you’ll part with your cash this year — 71.4% of millennials plan to spend on February 14th, followed by 65.1% of Gen Xers and 52.9% of baby boomers.

Those who are married or in a domestic partnership are most likely spend (72.5%), but nearly half of divorcees (48.7%) also plan to spend on celebrating. And you don’t even have to be in a couple to spend money: Nearly half of those who are single (48.2%) will also shell out on Valentine’s.

How much do we spend on Valentine’s Day?

An estimated $30.3 billion will be spent this Valentine’s Day, with participants spending an average of $200.50 in total per person on anything from their cats to themselves to their children. Of the most spoiled this year, wives take the cake with an estimated $170.51 spent on each — twice the amount we’re spending on our husbands ($71.17).

It’s a similar story for those in relationships. Boyfriends plan to spend an average $105.21 on their girls, while a much smaller $59.34 will be spent on boyfriends. As for our secret lovers? We’ll wine and dine our private paramours to the tune of $97.97 on average this year.

Who are we spending money on?

Looks like women get the better end of the bargain again this year, with 33.9% of those spending money on Valentine’s Day planning to do so on their wives. In comparison, only 28.5% are planning to purchase gifts for their husbands.

Family comes second, with 31.6% of Americans planning to spend on children and 21.4% dropping money on other family members. Also taking a stand this year? Self-love, considering 14.8% of us will spend Valentine’s money on ourselves.

And who could forget our pets? Dogs will receive the most love this year, with 11.0% saying they’ll buy for their pups. Not bad, but it’s nearly twice as much as the 6.5% we’ll spend on our cats! (For details on just how much we plan to spend, check out our stats on pets and Valentine’s.)

There’s even 3.4% of us — or more than 5 million Americans — who plan to buy a Valentine’s Day gift for a secret lover!

	Proportion of all people spending money on Valentine’s Day	Average amount spent
Wife	33.93%	$170.51
Husband	28.49%	$71.17
Boyfriend	8.44%	$59.34
Girlfriend	11.85%	$105.21
Secret lover	3.41%	$97.97
Pet dog	10.96%	$32.48
Pet cat	6.49%	$29.01
Friends	13.15%	$81.46
Kids	31.57%	$57.49
Family members	21.35%	$69.96
Themselves	14.77%	$70.78

Unwanted gifts: Valentine’s Day edition

Chances are good that we’ve received a present we don’t like. Some 14.7% of Americans say they’ve received an unwanted gift on February 14th. That’s more than 36 million of us who’ve received a Valentine’s Day gift we didn’t like!

Men appear to be better than women at giving gifts, with 42.9% of women saying they always like the gifts they receive, compared with just 29.6% of men. Ouch!
It turns out that millennials might be most picky, with 23.0% saying they’ve received an unwanted gift, compared with 18.7% of Gen Xers and only 6.5% of baby boomers.
Unsurprisingly, those who are married or in a domestic partnership are most likely to receive gifts they like for Valentine’s Day (42.0%). They’re closely followed by widows (36.6%), divorcees (29.7%) and singletons (27.3%).

For all media inquiries, please contact:

Richard Laycock, Insights editor and senior content marketing manager

E: uspr@finder.com

Thank you for your feedback!

Written by

Richard Laycock

Editorial & PR Lead

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Richard Laycock is Finder’s NYC-based lead editor & insights editor, spending the last decade data diving, writing and editing articles about all things personal finance. His musings can be found across the web including on NASDAQ, MoneyMag, Yahoo Finance and Travel Weekly. Richard studied Media at Macquarie University, including a semester abroad at The Missouri School of Journalism (MIZZOU). See full bio

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2 Responses

FarrelFebruary 14, 2019

Why was Valentine’s day named after a beheaded priest?

nikkiangcoFebruary 16, 2019

Hi Farrel,

Thanks for getting in touch! The date of Fr. Valentine’s death may have become mingled with the Feast of Lupercalia, a pagan festival of love. On these occasions, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius decided to put an end to the Feast of Lupercalia, and he declared that February 14 be celebrated as St Valentine’s Day.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Nikki

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2 Responses

Valentine’s Day spending 2024

Americans will spend roughly $2.89 billion on roses in 2024.

How much does a dozen roses cost?

Other Valentine’s Day stats

Methodology

Sources

Previous Finder Valentine’s Day surveys

2021 report

2020 report

2019 report

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For all media inquiries, please contact:

Richard Laycock

Ask a question

2 Responses

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