Valentine’s Day statistics 2024: What is the average spend?

Each year, when the day of love arrives on 14 February, people across the UK spend significant amounts on their significant others, beloved pets or even themselves. It’s safe to say that Valentine’s Day has grown to become a special day all over the world… and it’s also a big day for our credit cards! So, how many are celebrating, and how much does the average Brit spend?

Valentine’s Day statistics: Highlights

• Two-thirds of Brits (65%) will celebrate Valentine’s Day in 2024, around 34.8 million people.
• The average spend on Valentine’s Day is predicted to be £50 per person in 2024.
• The UK is predicted to spend a total of over £1.5 billion on Valentine’s Day in 2024.
• Millennials are the most likely generation to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, with 4 in 5 (80%) marking the occasion.
• Londoners will spend the most of Valentine’s Day with a planned average spend of £68 each.

How many people celebrate Valentine’s Day?

In 2024, an estimated 34.8 million Brits plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day, which is almost two-thirds (65%) of the population. Around 3 in 5 Brits (58%) also plan to spend at least some money on their Valentine’s Day celebrations, around 30.9 million people.

• Graph
• Table

What is the average spend on Valentine’s Day?

Brits are planning to spend an average of £50 each for Valentine’s Day, whether that’s buying gifts for a loved one or enjoying a nice meal. Men are planning to spend more, with an average spend of £59 each compared to £51 each for women.

How much money is spent on Valentine’s Day?

With 30.9 million people planning to spend at least some money on the occasion, the UK is predicted to spend a total of over £1.5 billion on Valentine’s Day in 2024. This is a substantial increase from 2021, when an estimated £926,000 was spent on Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day spending by generation

Millennials are the most likely to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, with 4 in 5 (80%) marking the day of love. 73% will be spending at least some money, with an average spend of £61 each. Generation Z is not far behind, as three-quarters of this cohort (75%) will be celebrating and 72% spending money. They have a higher planned spend than millennials, at £67 each.

• Graph
• Table

The likelihood of celebrating Valentine’s Day decreases with age, perhaps as the novelty wears off over time! Around two-thirds of generation X (68%) and just over half of baby boomers (53%) will celebrate the day of love, while only two-fifths (39%) of the silent generation will mark the occasion.

These generations also plan to spend less than the younger generations, with an average spend of £45 for generation X, £31 for baby boomers and £39 for the silent generation.

Valentine’s Day spending by region

Londoners will be spending the most this Valentine’s Day, with the average resident planning to shell out £68 on the occasion. Those in Northern Ireland are not far behind, planning to spend £66 each.

Northern Ireland residents are also the most likely to celebrate, with almost three-quarters (73%) making plans for Valentine’s Day. Those in London (71%) and the East of England (71%) are next on the list of regions planning to celebrate with their loved ones.

Meanwhile, people in Scotland are least likely to celebrate, with 56% planning to do so. Residents in the East of England will be the thriftiest this Valentine’s Day, with a planned spend of £38 each on average.

• Graph
• Table

• Previous research: Valentine's Day statistics 2021

  Change over time

  Just over three-quarters (76%) of the nation planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day in 2021, down from 79% in 2020 and up from 69% in 2018.

  We also spent less, with the average spend per person being £23. This is a percentage decrease of 34% from 2020, which saw the average spend per person sit at £35. In 2018, the average spend per person was £28. This indicates the toll of the pandemic on romantic celebrations last year, as Brits spent 17% less on Valentine’s Day than they did 3 years ago.

  More people also didn’t spend any money in 2021. In comparison to the 18% of Brits who decided to do a money-free Valentine’s Day in 2020 and the 16% who chose to do so in 2018, 2021 saw over a quarter of Brits (26%) not spending anything at all.

  How did Brits celebrate Valentine’s Day in 2021?

  It’s no secret that the nation’s romantic options were somewhat limited last year, but for some Brits, not even a pandemic kept them from their other halves. Our findings showed that 30% of couples who lived apart went full Romeo and Juliet, breaking lockdown rules and spending time together indoors despite not being from the same household.

  A quarter (25%) of those not living together also went virtual, as they planned to celebrate via video messaging or on the phone. Just under a fifth (19%) of Brits went on a walk with their partners, while 14% exchanged gifts.

  The best way to one’s heart is through the stomach, and this saying may prove true for those who live together, as their number one priority on Valentine’s Day is getting takeaway (27%) or cooking a special meal (26%). This was closely followed by the classic act of binging a TV box set together or enjoying a movie night (21%).

  • Graph
  • Table

  How Brits plan to spend their Valentine's Day	% of those celebrating Valentine's Day
  My partner and I do live together and plan to get a takeaway	27%
  My partner and I do live together and plan to cook a special meal	26%
  My partner and I do not live together but plan to celebrate via video message or a phone call	25%
  My partner and I do live together and plan to watch a movie or TV series	21%
  My partner and I do live together and plan to go for a walk	19%
  My partner and I do not live together but plan to spend time together inside	30%
  My partner and I do live together and plan to exchange gifts	18%
  My partner and I do live together and plan to celebrate in another way	16%
  My partner and I do not live together but plan to go for a walk	19%
  My partner and I do not live together but plan to exchange gifts	14%
  My partner and I do live together and plan to play a board game	5%
  My partner and I do not live together but plan to celebrate another way	7%

  Valentine’s Day by gender

  Of those who celebrated Valentine’s Day in 2021, men were the bigger spenders. 55% of men who celebrated Valentine’s Day last year also planned to spend money (the sum of those celebrating who will be spending more than £0), with the majority opting to spend between £1 and £40. In comparison, only 45% of women participating in Valentine’s Day celebrations planned to spend money, with most planning to spend £10 or below.

  2020 saw 9% of men planning to spend more than £100, but this percentage dropped to just 2% last year. The biggest difference can be seen in women. 1% were willing to spend more than £100 on their partner this year, while 2020 saw that number sitting at 4%.

  A large portion of men and women did not spend money last year. 28% of women kept their pockets shut in February, and 24% of men did the same.

  How much Brits plan to spend for Valentine's Day	% of all	% of men	% of women
  £0	26%	24%	28%
  £1-10	13%	11%	14%
  £11-20	11%	11%	11%
  £21-40	10%	11%	10%
  £41-60	8%	10%	5%
  £61-80	3%	4%	2%
  £81-100	3%	4%	2%
  £101-150	1%	2%	1%
  £151-200	1%	2%	0%
  More than £200	0%	0%	0%
  I will not be celebrating Valentine's day this year	24%	21%	26%

  Valentine’s Day by region

  London is the UK’s most romantically minded city – or at least its biggest-spending city – with those in the capital spending just below £40 last Valentine’s Day. While the capital’s reign as the highest-spending city still continues, the average amount per head has seen a drop of 25% since 2020. Then, Londoners were happy to splurge an average of £52 per head. Despite this, 14% of Londoners didn’t spend any money to celebrate Valentine’s Day, while another 14% don’t celebrate the day at all.

  At the other end of the scale, the East Midlands had the lowest average spend at £16, taking over 2020’s lowest spenders in the South West (with an average spend of £28). Those in the East Midlands must be hoping that The Beatles’ maxim that “money can’t buy you love” holds true, as a whopping 34% planned on celebrating Valentine’s Day without spending a single penny. 21% of those in the East Midlands weren’t celebrating Valentine’s Day, which is a slight drop from 2020’s 26%. 73% celebrated Valentine’s Day in Northern Ireland, which is lower than the enthusiastic 87% who were eager to celebrate in 2020.

  Region	Average amount to be spent for Valentine's Day
  South West	£18
  South East	£22
  East of England	£21
  West Midlands	£24
  East Midlands	£16
  Yorshire and The Humber	£22
  North West	£22
  North East	£23
  Wales	£18
  Scotland	£17
  Northern Ireland	£23
  London	£39

  Valentine’s Day by age group

  Generation Z has overtaken millennials as the UK’s highest-spending age group on Valentine’s Day, forking out a whopping £41 on average for their loved ones. The next highest spenders were millennials (£32), followed by generation X (£19) and baby boomers (£11).

  The silent generation were the lowest spenders, averaging £10. They were also the least likely to celebrate Valentine’s Day of all the age groups (36%), but it should be noted that the silent generation was also the most likely to celebrate without spending any money (42%). They were followed by baby boomers (37%) and generation X (27%).

  • Graph
  • Table

  Age group	2021	2020
  Generation Z	£41	£27
  Millennials	£32	£42
  Generation X	£19	£38
  Baby Boomers	£11	£30
  Silent Generation	£10	£12

  Will Brits be spending on themselves on Valentine’s Day?

  According to our research, 25% of Brits treat themselves on Valentine’s Day. With an average of £12.50 spent each, this could total £155 million across the UK.

  It also appears that those in a relationship, whether married or not, are most likely to treat themselves on Valentine’s Day. Call it complacency? Unmarried people in a relationship are the most likely to dish out the dough on themselves, with 33% saying they did so last year. Married couples were the next most likely, with 25% intending to look after number 1. Singletons (20%) were the least likely to give something to themselves on Valentine’s Day.

  Not only are those in a relationship more likely to allow themselves a treat or two, but they’re also willing to spend more than those without a ball and chain. Unmarried partners planned to buy a little somethin’ somethin’ for themselves, spending £13, while single people intended to spend just over £10 each.

  Methodology

  • A total of 2,000 people were questioned throughout Great Britain, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.
  • The research was conducted in January 2021.

• Previous research: Valentine's Day statistics 2020

  Over 32 million (61%) Brits will be spending money on their loved ones for Valentine’s Day 2020 and a further 9.4 million will celebrate 14 February without spending anything.

  Of those who will be spending money, each person expects to spend £35 on average, meaning over £1.45 billion will be spent collectively by Brits. The amount people will spend varies a lot, with 1 in 15 (6%) planning to spend more than £100. Valentine’s isn’t for everyone, though, as 1 in 5 (21%) Brits won’t be celebrating it in any form this year.

  Change over time

  4 in 5 Brits (79%) plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day in 2020, up from 69% in 2018. We’ll also be spending more on average this year, with the average spend of £35 per person being a 23% increase (£7) from £28 in 2018. However, more of us plan on celebrating without spending any money – 18% will do so in 2020, compared to 16% in 2018.

  Gender

  Of those who will celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, men look to be the bigger spenders. Guys plan to spend around £44 on average, compared to £26 for women. Men were also almost 3 times more likely to spend serious cash, with 9% planning to spend more than £100. Only 4% of women planned to spend the same.

  Ladies are more likely to be celebrating Valentine’s Day without spending any money, with 20% of female respondents planning on leaving the wallet behind on 14 February, compared to 16% of men. The same percentage of men and women (21%) reported they would not be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year.

  Location

  London is the UK’s most romantically minded city, or at least its biggest-spending, with those in the capital planning on spending £52 on average this Valentine’s Day.

  At the other end of the scale, the South West of England has the lowest average spend at £28. Those in the South West must be hoping the Beatles maxim that money can’t buy you love holds true, with 22% planning on celebrating Valentine’s Day but not paying a penny to do so.

  The East Midlands is the region with the most people who won’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, with 26% of residents reporting that they won’t be celebrating the day at all. Those in Northern Ireland are the most likely to be out and about on 14 February, with 87% planning on celebrating Valentine’s Day this year.

  Age

  Millennials will be the UK’s highest-spending generation this Valentine’s Day, forking out £42 on average on their loved ones. This is followed by gen X (£38), baby boomers (£30) and gen Z (£27).

  The silent generation are the lowest spenders, averaging £12. They’re are also the least likely to celebrate Valentine’s Day, with only 58% planning on doing so. But the silent generation is also the most likely to celebrate without spending any money (30%), followed by baby boomers (21%) and millennials (17%).

  So there you have it, spending money on your significant other for Valentine’s Day really doesn’t mean you need to break the bank or start searching for the best credit card to put it on. On average, both men and women spend a relatively small and manageable amount.

  Methodology

  • A total of 2,000 people were questioned throughout Great Britain, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.
  • The research was conducted in January 2020.

• Previous research: Valentine's Day statistics 2018

  Who’s spending money on Valentine’s Day 2018?

  More than 22 million Brits are gearing up to spend money on their loved ones this Valentine’s Day, totalling to 52.8% of us. In opposition to this, 31.2% of us won’t be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year and 16% plan to celebrate but not spend anything. Out of those celebrating Valentine’s, each person is estimated to spend an average of £28.45. People are most likely to spend within £1–£10 (15.3%).

  Gender

  Women are more likely to be spending nothing (18.7%) compared to men (13.2%). They’re also more likely to be spending less, with 19.3% of women dropping between £1 and £10, compared to only 11.2% of men. Men are more likely to be dropping the bigger amounts – they’re 3 times more likely than women to spend more than £201 (men at 1.22%, women at 0.39%).

  Generation

  Valentine’s Day seems to transcend generation, with a near equal amount of millennials (68.8%), gen X (69.3%) and baby boomers (68.4%) planning to celebrate it. Baby boomers are most likely to celebrate it while not spending (20.1%), followed by millennials (16.2%) and gen X (11.2%). On average, gen X are spending the most (£33.94), followed by millennials (£25.75) and baby boomers (£25.47).

  Region

  Those in Yorkshire and the Humber are the loneliest, with 37.3% planning on not celebrating Valentine’s Day this year. This is followed by the West Midlands (35.5%) and East Midlands (33.3%). On the other hand, Londoners are the most likely to be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year (73.5%), followed by Northern Ireland (73.2%).

  Who are we spending money on?

  As for who we’re spending our money on, most people are planning to treat their wife or husband (59.6%), followed by their boyfriend or girlfriend (28.2%) and then their children (4.7%). The next most likely candidate is pet dogs, with 4.5% of Brits planning on doting on their pups.

  Cats, on the other hand, get less love than their doggy counterparts – only 3% of Brits plan to spend money on them. That ends up being 3.1 million Brits who are showering their pets with love this Valentine’s Day. There’s even 2.1% who are spending it on themselves!

  Gender

  Women are much more likely to spend money on their kids on Valentine’s Day (8.2%) compared to men (1.5%). Women are also more likely to celebrate Valentine’s Day by treating themselves than men (2.5% compared with 1.7%).

  Generation

  Millennials are the most likely to spend money on their cat or dog (8.7%), followed by gen X (7.4%) and baby boomers (4.1%). Millennials are over twice as likely to treat themselves on Valentine’s Day at 3.5%, compared to 1.3% of gen X and 1.1% of baby boomers.

  Unwanted gifts: Valentine’s Day edition

  While 50% of the population rarely, if ever, receive Valentine’s Day gifts, there are 9.7 million of us who have received a gift they didn’t like. That’s 46.8% of those who do receive Valentine’s Day gifts that don’t like them. On the other hand, 53.2% of us who receive gifts always like them – a much happier lot than the 13.8% who, out of the gifts they’ve received, have never received one they’ve liked.

  Gender

  Of those who receive gifts on Valentine’s, men are more likely to not like them (52.6%) than women (41.4%). Men are also less likely to receive Valentine’s Day gifts in the first place, with 51.1% of all UK men saying they rarely, if ever, get a gift they like, compared with 49% of women.

  Generation

  Surprisingly, of those who receive gifts, millennials are most likely to not like their Valentine’s Day present (52.5%) compared with a close 52.3% of gen X and 34.4% of baby boomers. Baby boomers are the most unlikely to receive a Valentine’s Day gift, with 59.1% saying they rarely, if ever, receive a gift, compared with 45.4% of millennials and 43.7% of gen X.

  Who celebrates a belated Valentine’s Day?

  Celebrating Valentine’s Day after 14 February has become surprisingly popular – 7.9 million (19%) Brits plan to have a belated Valentine’s Day to get better value. That’s 1 in 5 of us! Interestingly, more women (20.5%) have celebrated Valentine’s Day after 14 February to get better value when compared to men (17.5%).

  Generation

  Generation-wise, the younger you are, the more likely you’ve celebrated Valentine’s Day after 14 February to save money. Over 1 in 4 millennials (25.6%) admit to professing their love late, followed by 22% of gen X and 11.5% of baby boomers.

  Income

  Interestingly, the more you earn, the more likely you’ll have celebrated Valentine’s Day late to save your money. 17.2% of those earning between £0 and £35,000 have celebrated late, compared to the 22.2% of those earning £35,001+, on average.

  Region

  As for the region, Londoners have celebrated Valentine’s Day after 14 February the most out of all regions (23.1%). Those residing in the East Midlands are hot on their tail at 22.5%, followed by those in the South West (20%). In contrast, those residing in Wales are the least likely to profess their love late to stretch their pound further (13%), followed by those in Northern Ireland (14.3%) and those in the North West (16.5%).

  Methodology

  Finder commissioned Onepoll on 21-23 January 2020 to carry out a nationally representative survey of adults aged 18+.
  A total of 2,000 people were questioned throughout Great Britain, with representative quotas for gender, age and region

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact

Matt Mckenna
Head of UK communications
T: +44 20 8191 8806