Canadians might be trimming their budgets but they’re not trimming the romance this Valentine’s Day, according to new data from Moneris.
Also, a survey by the Retail Council of Canada survey suggests fewer Canadians will celebrate Valentine’s Day, but those who are, plan to spend just as much if not more.
The survey said the number of people planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year has dropped significantly by nine percentage points compared to 2023 with 48 per cent. It also found that 48 per cent of males and 49 per cent of females celebrate Valentine’s Day. The male versus female split celebrating Valentine’s Day has remained unchanged compared to 2023.
The Retail Council of Canada’s survey said 67.1 per cent of Canadians expect to spend the same amount of money on celebrating Valentine’s Day as they did last year. About one in six Canadians (16.5 per cent) expect to spend more this year on purchases related to Valentine’s Day. The number of people planning to spend the same or more as compared to last year has decreased by only 0.6 percentage points compared to 2023.
It found that approximately 41 per cent of Canadians will plan at least a week ahead before Valentine’s Day to make purchases. This number has changed by only one percentage point compared to 42 per cent in 2023 and 4.2 per cent of Canadians are impulse shoppers and make purchases on Valentine’s day. The number of people shopping on impulse has gone up by 0.7 percentage points compared to 3.5 per cent in 2023.
Around 49 per cent of Canadians spend $50 or less on Valentine’s Day. Compared to 2023, this number has decreased by 2.6 percentage points and 28.7 per cent of Canadians spend between $51-$100.
David Litwin, Senior Communications Specialist at Moneris, said Valentine’s Day, which falls at the beginning of the year can be an interesting bellwether for what businesses and consumers might expect for the rest of the year.
Right around the corner is Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and graduation season.
He said Valentine’s Day spending can project what these businesses for those days might expect this year.
Here’s what spend data from Moneris indicates:
- All the usual suspects on Valentine’s Day can expect a boost based on 2023 week-over-week spend volume (total dollars spent). Florists see the biggest boost with volumes five times higher (407 per cent). Candy, nut, and confection shops also more than double (130 per cent). Meanwhile, Restaurants (80 per cent), Jewellery stores (66 per cent), Card shops (46 per cent), and Bakeries (44 per cent) all see double-digit growth;
- When it comes to spending on gifts and flowers, Canadians are cutting back instead of cutting out. Confectionary stores, card shops, and florists all saw an increase in transaction count but a decrease in average transaction size week-over-week last year. Florists saw the most significant increase of 739 per cent for transaction count and a decrease of 40 per cent for average transaction size. Confectionary stores saw an increase of 166 per cent for transaction count and a decrease of 13 per cent for average transaction size. Card shops saw an increase of 63 per cent for transaction count and a decrease of 11 per cent for average transaction size;
- Jewellery stores and bakeries saw an increase in transaction count while the average transaction size was unchanged. Consumers aren’t necessarily spending more on jewellery but businesses will see more shoppers (65 per cent increase in transaction count), rather than size of purchase;
- For bakeries, one can only eat so many baked goods before they go bad. Again, Valentine’s Day might mean more net new customers (40 per cent increase in transaction count), rather than larger orders;
- Restaurants are cashing in on “funflation”. While customers save on experiences throughout the year, Valentine’s Day is an invitation to celebrate. Restaurants are the only category to see growth in both transaction count (35 per cent) and average transaction size (33 per cent).
“Restaurants oftentimes for special occasions will run set menus and a set menu is a great way to kind of appeal to customers, communicate value and encourage them to spend a little bit more than they might have otherwise,” said Litwin.
“Inflation comes into play here as well. Canadians are really cost conscious day to day but a special occasion like Valentine’s Day is an opportunity for them to spend a little bit more and to celebrate. And Valentine’s Day is exactly that.”
