Valentine’s is coming – How will Americans spend their time and money?
January 31st, 2023, Clifton Mark

Valentine’s is coming – How will Americans spend their time and money?

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, many Americans are already planning their celebrations. YouGov conducted a custom survey to find out how many Americans will be observing the holiday, what they’ll be doing to mark it and what they’ll be giving as gifts.

According to our survey about one third of Americans (32%) plan on celebrating Valentine’s Day with their romantic partner and another third (31%) say they will not be celebrating at all. However, this isn’t everyone. The remaining third of Americans (27%) say they’ll mark the holiday with friends or alone.

Whether they’re celebrating with partners or with friends, the most popular activity option is to spend time together at home, selected by half of respondents (51%), followed by watching movies or TV, chosen by 43%. A third of those celebrating plan to go out for a meal/drinks and 13% will attend an event or activity such as a concert or show. Nearly a tenth (9%) of Americans will pack up and travel for the holiday, including 9% of consumers who are planning a solo Valentine’s Day trip.

Valentine’s Day is traditionally an occasion to show appreciation for a romantic partner. When asked what kind of gifts they would give, half of all those celebrating with a partner (52%) cited gifts of food or dinner. This was followed by greeting cards at 35% and clothes/jewelry at 17%. Less popular but still selected by many were tickets to an event (6%) and travel (5%).

While Valentine’s Day gift-giving is traditional, a significant proportion (13%) of those celebrating with a partner do not plan on giving gifts at all. In this category, women outnumber men 17% to 10%. Our data shows that gift-giving also varies with age. In the 18-34 age group, only 7% of respondents who plan to celebrate with a partner say that won’t give gifts compared to 13% for 35-54 year-olds and 18% those 55 and older.

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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online in January 2023 with a nationally representative sample of 1181 adults in the US (aged 18+years), using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race to be representative of all adults in the US. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced. 

Photo by Laura Ockel on Unsplash