Valentine's Day Shifts to Cooking and Take-Out; Gifts and Flowers Expected to Decline
Tuesday, February 9th, 2021
Numerator, a data and tech company serving the market research space, has launched a consumer sentiment study to understand how people plan to celebrate, shop and spend for Valentine's Day 2021. Overall, nearly half (45.8%) of consumers plan to celebrate at home due to COVID-19 concerns, and more than half (52.5%) plan to buy their Valentine's gifts online.
The consumer sentiment survey of 3,100 verified shoppers in January 2021 shows the following key findings:
- Two-thirds (67.8%) of people said they bought Valentine's gifts in 2020, but less than half (47.5%) plan to do so this year.
- Last year, more than half (54%) went out for food/drinks to celebrate. In 2021, only 1 in 5 (21%) plan to do so.
- "Going out to eat" dropped by 27 percentage points from 2020 (44.5%) to 2021 (17.4%).
- "Going out for drinks" dropped by 14.6 points from 2020 (20.4%) to 2021 (5.8%).
- "Decorating/sending Valentine's cards" decreased by 11.8 points, likely impacted by schools being remote or not allowing traditional Valentine's celebrations this year.
- "At-home entertainment" (e.g., playing games, watching movies, etc.) was the only celebration method that remained flat from 2020 to 2021.
- "Cook at home" (+10 points) and "Order takeout/food delivery" (+12.4 points) were the only two areas that saw increases from last year.
Valentine's Day Celebration Methods
Percentage of Respondents Selecting
|
2020 |
2021 |
Point Change |
|
|
Go out to eat |
44.5% |
17.4% |
-27.1 |
|
Buy gifts (for myself or others) |
67.8% |
47.5% |
-20.3 |
|
Go out for drinks |
20.4% |
5.8% |
-14.6 |
|
Decorate/Send Valentine's Day cards |
37.6% |
25.8% |
-11.8 |
|
Visit friends or family |
14.4% |
7.1% |
-7.3 |
|
In-person entertainment |
11.8% |
4.7% |
-7.1 |
|
Decorate my home for Valentine's Day |
29.1% |
22.6% |
-6.5 |
|
Travel |
8.7% |
3.5% |
-5.2 |
|
Host friends or family at home |
10.2% |
5.7% |
-4.5 |
|
At-home entertainment |
29.7% |
29.3% |
-0.4 |
|
Cook at home |
24.7% |
34.7% |
10 |
|
Order takeout/food delivery |
13.5% |
25.9% |
12.4 |
Source: Numerator Survey
Valentine's Gifts:
- More than half (52.5%) of people buying Valentine's gifts plan to do so online this year.
- 57.4% plan to buy from Mass Retailers (e.g. Target, Walmart)
- 37.4% from Grocery Stores
- 24.8% from Dollar Stores
- 21.6% from Drug Stores
- 14.1% from Club Stores
- All gift categories included in the survey showed declines in purchase intent for 2021 vs. 2020, led by Flowers (-14.9 pts), Clothes (-12 pts), and Accessories (-10 pts).
- In 2020, nearly half (45.8%) of Valentine's gift buyers purchased Flowers; in 2021, less than one-third (30.9%) plan to do so.
- Candy is the most popular gifting category, with 84.4% of consumers purchasing in 2020 vs 74.9% planning to do so in 2021.
- Experiential gifts (concert tickets, plane tickets, hotels, etc.) dropped from 14.3% in 2020 to 5.5% in 2021.
Valentine's Day Gifting Categories
Percentage of Respondents Selecting
|
2020 |
2021 |
Point Change |
|
|
Flowers |
45.8% |
30.9% |
-14.9 |
|
Clothes |
32.2% |
20.2% |
-12 |
|
Accessories |
25.2% |
15.2% |
-10 |
|
Jewelry |
26.1% |
16.2% |
-9.9 |
|
Alcohol |
27.9% |
18.4% |
-9.5 |
|
Candy |
84.4% |
74.9% |
-9.5 |
|
Experiential |
14.3% |
5.5% |
-8.8 |
|
Food |
55.1% |
46.7% |
-8.4 |
|
Spa products |
22.7% |
15.8% |
-6.9 |
|
Electronics |
13.7% |
9.1% |
-4.6 |
Source: Numerator Survey
In addition to Valentine's Day, the Numerator holiday sentiment study also covers consumer sentiment around St. Patrick's Day and Easter 2021.
