Valentine’s Day in Malaysia: expectations vs. reality

Picodi.com checked the type of gifts Malaysians would like to receive on Valentine’s Day, how much money they are willing to spend and if their gifts suit the taste of their partners.

Valentine’s Day is very popular in Malaysia: 68% of Malaysians surveyed said they celebrate Valentine’s Day and 75% said that they will give something to their partner. This probably means that such people, although they don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, think it’s acceptable to give a gift anyway.

What are Malaysians going to buy as a gift? Among the men surveyed, the most popular answers were food on delivery (24%), dinner at a restaurant (21%) and flowers (20%). Women on the other hand said they are going to buy food on delivery (21%), dinner at a restaurant (20%) and perfumes (15%).

We also asked what gifts Malaysians expect to get from their significant others and according to women, the most expected gifts were dinner at a restaurant (61%), food on delivery (41%), flowers (33%), money (28%) and jewellery (25%). As for men, the most expected option was food on delivery (45%), dinner at restaurant (72%), flowers (22%), jewellery (22%) and money (20%).

The worst Valentine’s Day gifts according to women are alcohol (20%), dinner at a restaurant (19%), teddy bears (19%), sex toys (29%), and food on delivery (16%). Among men, food on delivery (23%) and dinner at a restaurant (18%) were chosen as the least wanted.

Valentine’s Day in other countries

We also looked into the financial side of Valentine’s Day. On average, we spend RM195 on Valentine’s Day gifts in Malaysia, with men spending 8% more than women (RM 202 vs. RM188).

Among the countries researched, the highest amounts are spent in Hong Kong (US$124), the United Kingdom (US$117), Ireland (US$112), and the United States (US$106). Malaysia is placed 19th in the ranking (US$48).

In 2021 in Malaysia, the most frequently chosen gift is food on delivery. Hongkongese men usually choose Valentine’s Day cards, while women choose clothes. In Australia, men give mostly flowers on Valentine’s Day and receive electronics from women.

Want to prepare a romantic dinner for your significant other? Or maybe order some food and enjoy a movie night? Regardless of your plans, Picodi will help you save money with cashback and discount codes offered in shops such as foodpanda, Subway and McDonald’s.

Methodology

This report is based on results of a survey among over 11,000 people from 38 selected countries where Valentine’s Day is celebrated. For currency conversion, we used the average exchange rate for January 2021.

Public Use

Would you like to share the information and infographics about Valentine’s Day in Malaysia and other countries with your readers? Feel free to use all the data and infographics presented in this report for both commercial and non-commercial purposes as long as you indicate the author of the research (Picodi.com) with a link to this subpage. If you have any questions, please contact us: research@picodi.com.