Valentine’s Day Consumer Trends & Gift Guide

The hottest Valentine’s trends and a BOSS gift guide for every budget.

It’s the most romantic time of year. Do you know what Valentine’s Day gifts are on your loved ones wishlists? According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 54.8 percent of Americans celebrate the holiday. That’s one in two people in the U.S.

Last year alone, $19.7 billion dollars were spent in total on the romantic festivities, too. Coming in just behind Christmas and Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day takes bronze for the year’s highest grossing holidays—that’s roughly $20 billion in consumer spending.

Consumer Trends
It is also the largest U.S. floral industry in terms of consumer dollar spending. Prince & Prince projects that for 2017, more than 43 million households in the U.S. will purchase fresh cut flowers—largely roses—and/or potted plants this holiday. Each purchasing household, on average is expected to spend about $75 on floral (with associated delivery and service fees included). Meanwhile, Canada comes in with 12.3 million dozen roses imported for the holiday. A more unique trend for Canadian Valentines: bouquets of delectable Doritos Ketchup Roses, which are currently already sold out.

Despite the whopping spending trends, 2016 numbers are nearly 10 percent less than 2007.

That being said, the holiday continues to be profitable, as the NRF’s Consumer Study suggests the average shopper spends $147 on their Valentine.

Most consumers kick off their shopping for the romantic holiday about two weeks ahead of time—46 percent of purchases—and many wait until the very last minute—30 percent of purchases take place on February 14th to be exact.  

Where are these purchases happening this year? Well, NRF reports that 28 percent of shoppers discovered gifts online and the V-Day e-hunt is on the rise. Brick-and-mortar florists have taken a huge hit, with a 41 percent decline since 2001. IBISWorld shares that online floral shops experienced a six percent increase in sales over the last five years.

And while 90.8 percent of people said they’d be celebrating with a significant other or spouse, spending on furry friends is on the up and up: Valentine’s Day gifting for pets is now a $681 million industry.

Thanks to President’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and the Super Bowl, plenty of sales are taking place when it comes to TVs, winter apparel, tax software, and Valentine-oriented items and activities.

BOSS Valentine’s Day Gift Guide
While, some of our other gift guides—trust us, subscription services and meal delivery sound good year-round—are certainly relevant for the most romantic day of the year, we’ve pulled together some fresh takes on gifting upgrades so you don’t miss cupid’s mark.

(Personally, this epicurean-oriented writer suggests a low-key homemade dinner.)

This year, we’ve got you covered, no matter what your budget may be.

Gifts for Less than $20

• Love Icon Gummy Candies from Sugarfina
  Non-alcoholic champagne and berry-flavored rose, bear, and kiss gummies?  Cheers.

• Vintage Motorlodge Keychain
  Schoolhouse Electric’s playful plastic keychains are a punchy way to celebrate a big step: giving your Valentine keys to your abode.

• Heart Print Trunks, Three-Pack from ASOS
  Machine washable jersey trunks that you and your Valentine will love on any occasion.
  

• Our Q&A a Day: 3-Year Journal
  Already a classic: couples can easily use this one-sentence journal to create a unforgettable time capsule. Features questions like, “What does your partner’s laugh sound like?” and “Where would you like to travel with your partner?”
• Sweet & Simple: Dessert for Two by Christina Lane
  100 recipes for couples, featuring tantalizing cakes, cookies, pies, bars, and other sweets.
• Heart Sparklers by Free People
  For the little kid in every BOSS. Made in America, too!
• Compliment Greeting Card Set by Ban.do
  Make someone’s heart melt via old school snail mail.
  
• Sweets from See’s Candies
  The old standby: classic chocolates from See’s. These hearts also come in dairy-free, nut-free, Kosher, soy-free, egg-free, and sugar-free options.

Gifts from $20-50

• Valentine’s Day Cakes from Williams Sonoma
  Whimsical cakes made by award-winning We Take the Cake bakery. Williams Sonoma also has NFL-themed cakes for those diehard football fan Valentines.

• Kings County Distillery Chocolate Whiskey
  That’s right, it’s chocolate. So if you aren’t a fan of whiskey in general, this may do the drink.
• Champagne Truffles by Jacques Torres
  Taittinger Brut La Française Champagne AND milk chocolate? It’s difficult to resist this world-class combination—in chocolate cork form, n’est-ce pas?
  

Gifts from $50-$100

• Blue Bottle Coffee at Your Doorstep
  The San Francisco Bay Area’s beloved microroasters now will send you six-ounce bags of coffee beans every other week for six months.

• Blooms Forever
  Or at least 60 days. Luxe Bloom’s real Ecuadorian roses are preserved using an ancient method, and maintain their natural vibrant beauty for at least 60 days with no watering or refrigeration necessary.
• Fresh Lobster… Anywhere
  This New England company has been shipping live lobsters and fresh seafood for over 15 years, so who better to trust when treating your “Maine” squeeze to a giant lobster tail?

• Expecting?
  The Shell device lets couples listen to and record your baby’s heartbeat.

Gifts from $100-$150

• Take Flight
  Jet Blue, Alaska Air, and Frontier are offering flight deals between destinations like New York to Boston and Orange County to San Jose for around $50 each way.

• Gourmet Classes
  Sur La Table’s cooking classes are the crème de la crème of romantic date nights. Couples can learn how to make doughnuts, Thai food, Spanish tapas, Italian classics, and French comfort foods in just over two hours.
  

Gifts Over $150+

• A Luxury Watch for Her
  Baume & Mercier’s Classima Moon Phase was introduced at the 27th Annual SIHH—the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie is a major watch industry trade show that is invite-only, put on by The Richemont Group in collaboration with a few independent luxury brands—an accessible quartz watch with 31mm steel case with a 31mm stainless steel case featuring diamond indexes.

• A Luxury Watch for Him
  Panerai’s PAM 700, “LAB-ID” Luminor 1950 Carbotech 3 Days also made it’s SIHH debut this year, and as Perpetuelle puts it, “this watch is loaded with carbon, silicon, and innovation.”

• Relax, Unwind, and Roll
  RolPal’s RolPal 360 is the premium self-myofascial release roller designed to relieve tight back and hip muscles.

• Does Your Valentine Constantly Miss Texts?
  Ringly’s Backstage bracelet syncs with your phone to provide custom notification for each of your contacts.