Valentine’s Day in the United States: expectations vs. reality

Picodi.com checked the type of gifts Americans 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 the US: 74% of Americans surveyed said they celebrate Valentine’s Day and will give something to their partner.

What are Americans going to buy as a gift? Among the men surveyed, the most popular answers were Valentine’s Day cards (36%), flowers (32%) and perfumes (29%). Women on the other hand said they are going to buy sweets (34%), Valentine’s Day cards (31%) and perfumes (23%).

We also asked what gifts Americans expect to get from their significant others and according to women, the most expected gifts were perfumes (36%), jewellery (32%), flowers (28%), gift cards (23%) and clothes (16%). As for men, the most expected option was electronics (44%), gift cards (31%) and perfumes (26%). 14% wouldn’t mind getting alcohol, and 11% expected tickets to the cinema or concert.

The worst Valentine’s Day gifts according to women are teddy bears (21%), small home appliances (18%), board games (16%), home decor items (12%) and sports equipment (9%). Among men, a teddy bear (27%) and Valentine’s Day card (22%) 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 $106 on Valentine’s Day gifts in the United States, with men spending 33% more than women ($121 vs. $91).

Among the countries researched, the highest amounts are spent in Hong Kong ($124), the United Kingdom ($117), Ireland ($112), and the United States ($106).

In 2021 in the United States, the most frequently chosen gifts are Valentine’s Day cards (men) and sweets (women). Canadians usually choose food on delivery. In the UK, men give mostly flowers on Valentine’s Day and receive sweets from women.

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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 the United States 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.