CINCINNATI -- More than half of Millennial men (58%) and 28% of Millennial women plan to spend more than $100 on Valentine’s Day, according to a new national survey by customer science company dunnhumby, Cincinnati.
Millennials are shedding their frugal image and are planning to spare no expense on Valentine’s Day, while older and more established Americans are planning a more modest Valentine’s Day--or none at all.
Millennial men intend to make their Valentine’s Day spending count: 40% plan to buy jewelry for their partner, while Millennial women are choosing to spend on sweets, as half (51%) intend to buy chocolate for Valentine’s Day. Older Americans, however, are planning to spend less this season: while half (55%) of Americans age 35 to 44 plan on spending more than $100 on Valentine’s Day gifts, that number drops off as Americans age: only 27% of those 45 and over plan to splurge.
Relationship length is also a factor during the holiday--21% of respondents who have been in a relationship for 16 years or more announced their gift giving during the holiday would consist of “nothing.” Couples still getting to know each other--with a relationship timeframe of one to five years--were the most likely to buy an experience for a Valentine’s Day, choosing an adventure like kayaking or a cooking class. On the older end of the spectrum, couples who have been together six to 10 years were most likely to buy lingerie, perhaps feeling the seven-year-itch: almost one out of every four respondents (24%) in this relationship range said lingerie was on their Valentine’s Day shopping list.
Despite Millennials’ profligacy when it comes Feb. 14, traditional gifts still reign supreme among Americans: greeting cards (41%), chocolates (39%) and flowers (31%) proved the most popular Valentine’s Day gifts. In addition, Americans are surprisingly punctual when selecting gifts for their loved ones: 29% shop two to three weeks before the holiday, and 31% shop one week before.
Booking that romantic table for two on Valentine’s Day will prove to be a challenge this year, as 52% of Americans plan to dine out to celebrate. For those not going out on the town, 30% opted to cook dinner at home, and 91% said they would plan to shop at their local grocery store for their dinner ingredients.
Additional key findings of dunnhumby’s Valentine’s Day survey include:
- “Galentine’s Day” and the male equivalent (Malentine’s Day?) have caught on among young consumers--15% of men and 11% of women aged 18 to 24 plan to celebrate the holiday with close friends. (The custom was popularized on NBC’s Parks and Recreation.)
- The reliable department store was the most popular place to buy gifts (46%), followed by the mall (25%) and online (25%), while 20% plan to buy their gifts at a drug store and 13% plan to buy their gifts at a dollar store.
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