A survey by the National Retail Federation found that 62% of consumers 25 to 34 — the highest percentage in all age groups — plan to celebrate the holiday.
Florists wanting to cash in this Valentine’s Day would do well to target marketing to young adults who want to spoil their significant others.
That’s the takeaway from the National Retail Federation (NRF), which surveyed adult consumers Jan. 2-8 about their Valentine’s Day shopping plans.
The survey found that 62% of consumers 25 to 34 — the highest percentage in all age groups — plan to celebrate the holiday. Consumers indicated they’d likely spend an average of $185.81, up $8 from average spending five years ago, and that money is more likely to be spent on significant others, rather than children’s classmates and teachers, friends, pets, or co-workers, which was more prevalent in 2023.
The survey also found that 39% of respondents plan to buy flowers, which ranked third behind candy (57%), and greeting cards (40%). Flowers won out over an evening out (32%), jewelry (22%), clothing (21%) and gift cards (19%).
Overall Valentine’s Day spending is expected to be $25.8 billion, about on par with the estimated $25.9 billion spent in 2023, the survey found.
Society of American Florists’ Chief Economist Charlie Hall, Ph.D., the Elliston Chair of Floriculture at Texas A&M University, encourages retail florists to tap into that spending power with aggressive marketing and profitable pricing. Most of all, he suggests dismissing assumptions that consumers are strapped for cash.
Wages have gone up, and consumers are still holding onto excess pandemic savings, Hall says. If individual retailers have seen sales fall in recent months, it could be their local economy or poor pricing decisions, but “it’s not because peoples’ overall level of spending was down, they just chose to buy something else other than flowers,” he says.
In the SAF’s January survey about Valentine’s Day expectations, retailers indicated they feel optimistic about the holiday.
Most respondents expect increased or flat sales. About 42% predict sales will increase from 2023, 29% forecast flat sales, and 12% are bracing for a decrease.
Many florists reported feeling confident about strong sales because the holiday falls on a Wednesday, which they say historically bodes well for floral sales and doesn’t compete as much with the Feb. 11 Super Bowl. They also expect to extend the widow for Valentine’s sales to the weekend before and after the holiday.
Stay tuned for coverage on March 6 of a survey by Ipsos commissioned by SAF which gauges consumer spending for Valentine’s Day, as well as SAF’s survey of retailers about Valentine Day’s sales.
Amanda Jedlinsky is the managing editor of SAF News Now.
