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Your Heart Rules Your Head (And Your Shopping Cart)

PicodiFebruary 6, 2018

Once officially declared by Pope Gelasius I in 496, Valentine’s Day replaced its pagan predecessor—Lupercalia festival. Despite the long heritage, the common tradition of sending love cards is dated back to Great Britain and days much more present, circa the beginning of the seventeenth century.

Nowadays pop culture tends to depict Valentine’s Day as a cracking opportunity to confess love or even propose. But how relevant is the financial context of this lovebirds’ most important festival?

We’ve surveyed over 5,600 people from 32 different countries (including Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and both Americas) to find out about the local perception of Valentine’s Day. As the lovers festival of 14th February is banned in some countries due to religious reasons—i.e. Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia—we’ve decided to omit them in this particular study. Our report is a great source of information about lovebirds’ readiness to spend money, what are the most commonly chosen gifts and their costs, and eventually—whether reality does live up to recipients’ expectations.

Valentine’s Day in the Philippines

Valentine's Day in the Philippines

First things first, according to our research Filipinos tend to really enjoy Valentine’s Day with 81% admitting to celebrate on this occasion. The other 19% refuse any form of celebration. Having pointed that out, these results are definitely good news for all the restaurant owners—a romantic dinner is in fact the most commonly chosen gift among both men(44%) and women(36%). A date in the cinema is also a popular option with 29% of men and 18% of women choosing this form of gift. Interestingly, most women will decide for a more personalized approach: handmade gift (16%) or Valentine’s Day card (19%) are among top female choices too.

But what about the expectation itself? Which gifts would really win Singaporeans hearts? A date in the restaurant is hands down the most preferable option both for male (46%) and female (48%) part of our respondents. Should we mention that almost a quarter of Filipino men (24%) would be over the moon receiving cash? Once again women prefer more romantic approach—travel/trip out of town (26%), candies or chocolates (30%) or especially a nice bouquet of flowers (39%) would do it.

Want to spice things up on the Valentine’s Day evening? Watch out—sex toys will not work (21% of women think that’s a terrible idea for a gift). Trying to impress men? Remember that a date at the restaurant might be a tough and highly individual decision: more than a quarter of Filipino men (28%) stated that a date in the restaurant is not really what they are looking for on such occasion, even though 46% would be perfectly fine with such celebration. Don’t think of cash as an easy solution either—17% of men said it’s a no-no.

Fact worth noting – sadly over one third of Filipino male population (37%) have never received any Valentine’s gift. The same happened only to 26% of women.

It’s the Thought that Counts

Borderless Generosity

According to estimations, over a billion of cards is being sent on a Valentine’s Day, just a smidgen less that during Christmas time. Beginning of February is also quite hot period for shop owners. As Picodi internal data shows a pre-Valentine’s period is characterised by an average 37% surge in demand on “Jewellery” category, 38% on “Cosmetics & Perfumes” and 45% on “Adult”.

How much money is being spent on Valentine’s Day? Our survey suggests that on average Filipinos spend ₱1486 on their gifts. When making worldwide comparisons, Filipinos are spending the least amount of money for Valentine’s Day gift in the world (around USD30). On the contrary Hong Kongers declare the highest amount they are willing to spend on Valentine’s Day gifts (USD185, that’s over 6 times more than typical Filipino loverbird), closely followed by people from China (USD155) and the USA (USD147).

In almost every surveyed country—except Turkey, Vietnam and Nigeria—men try to impress women by spending more. Even though some researchers point out that a significant part of female population does not enjoy flowers, a nice bouquet is still 5th most popular Valentine’s Day gift in the world. Being sceptical or not, chocolate and perfume makers, restaurant and cinema owners are on top of the world during the first half of February.

Methodology

We’ve conducted our surveys among over 5,600 people from Africa, Asia, North and South America, Europe, Australia and Oceania—a total of 32 different countries and cultures, where the tradition of Valentine’s Day is present. A part of our report is also Picodi’s internal statistic data, with reference to transactions in online shops in countries, where Picodi.com operates. While making calculations we’ve used average currency exchange rates as of January 2018.

Sources

  • https://www.reuters.com/article/us-valentines-day-asia-test/forbidden-love-valentines-day-banned-for-some-in-asia-idUSKBN15T1R6
  • http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day
  • http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/valentines-day-half-of-women-disappointed-by-flowers-gifts-a6869666.html

Fair Use Statement

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