Here’s another sign Americans are feeling a bit better about the economy: We’re willing to spend a bit more on Valentine’s Day flowers, cards and trinkets.
American adults are expected to spend an average of $116.21 for Valentine’s Day gifts this year, according to a poll conducted by BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation.
That’s a nearly 13 percent increase over the $103 Americans said they were spending last year, on average, for loved ones, friends, co-workers and classmates, according to the retail trade group.
The financial crisis put a serious damper on American’s willingness to splurge on flowers, jewelry and candy hearts. Valentine’s Day spending fell from an average of $122.98 in February 2008 to $102.50 in 2009.
This year, BIGresearch said it expects total spending to hit $15.7 billion. The results were based on a survey of about 9,000 people conducted in early January.
About $3.5 billion of that will be spent on jewelry, according to the survey.
Other popular items include dining out ($3.4 billion), flowers ($1.7 billion), candy ($1.5 billion) and greeting cards ($1.1 billion).
Even though spending is up, we all know money can’t buy love, right?
It can only buy happiness.