Valentine’s Day spending statistics 2021

While this year’s Valentine’s Day celebrations may be different from prior times, Brits are still finding ways to indulge their partners, pets and themselves with gifts, (virtual) dates and much more. So, how much does the day really cost?

Quick overview

• Up to 40 million Brits (76%) will be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year.
• This is a significant drop from the 41.4 million who embraced the day of love in 2020.
• Of those who will celebrate Valentine’s Day, the total spend has dropped to £926 million (£23 per person), from last year’s £1.45 billion (£35 per person).
• 3 in 10 people (30%) who do not live with their partners plan to break lockdown rules and meet their partners inside.
• 24% of Brits will not be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year.

Change over time

Just over three quarters (76%) of the nation plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day in 2021, down from 79% in 2020, and up from 69% in 2018. We’ll also be spending less this year, with the average spend per person being £23. This is a percentage decrease of 34% from last year, 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 this year, as Brits will be spending 17% less on Valentine’s Day than they did three years ago.

This is also accompanied by the fact that more people than the years before will be celebrating Valentine’s Day without spending a penny. 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 will see over a quarter of Brits (26%) not spending anything at all.

How will Brits celebrate Valentine’s Day this year?

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Valentine’s Day by gender

Of those who will celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, men look to be the bigger spenders. 55% of men who are celebrating Valentine’s Day this year also plan 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 this year are planning to spend money, with most planning to spend £10 or below.

Last year saw 9% of men planning to spend more than £100, but this percentage has dropped to just 2%. The biggest difference can be seen in women. 1% are 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 will not be spending any money this year. 28% of women will be keeping their pockets shut this February, and 24% of men will be doing the same.

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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 planning on spending just below £40 this 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 last year. In 2020, Londoners were happy to splurge an average of £52 per head. Contrastingly, 14% of Londoners won’t be spending money to celebrate Valentine’s Day, while another 14% won’t be celebrating the day at all.

At the other end of the scale, the East Midlands has the lowest average spend at £16, taking over last year’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% plan on celebrating Valentine’s Day without spending a single penny. 21% of those in the East Midlands won’t be celebrating Valentine’s Day, which is a slight drop from last year’s 26%. 73% will be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year in Northern Ireland, which is lower than the enthusiastic 87% who were eager to celebrate in 2020.

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Valentine’s Day by age group

Generation Z has overtaken millennials as the UK’s highest-spending age group this Valentine’s Day, planning to fork 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 are the lowest spenders, averaging £10. They’re also the least likely to celebrate Valentine’s Day of all the age groups (36%), but it should be noted that the silent generation are also the most likely to celebrate without spending any money (42%). They are followed by baby boomers (37%) and generation X (27%).

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Georgia-Rose Johnson, shopping specialist at finder.com, says:

“With Valentine’s Day date ideas limited by the nationwide lockdown, you might expect people to spend more on presents this year. Instead, it seems that most couples are content with some nice food and a night in front of the TV.

“For those that don’t live with their partner, there are still ways to mark the occasion without breaking lockdown rules and potentially endangering your health. You could participate in a live, online event like a cooking class or interactive game, or just block out a good chunk of time to have a chat over the phone. However, if you are planning to send a gift or card to someone, here are some ideas.”

• Previous research: Valentine's Day statistics 2020

  The day of love is fast approaching on 14 February, with many of us celebrating by spending money on our significant others, beloved pets and even ourselves. It’s safe to say that Valentine’s Day has grown to become a special day all over the world. But, how much does the day really cost?

  Over 32 million (61%) Brits will be spending money on their loved ones this Valentine’s Day 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 are 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

  The day of love is fast approaching on 14 February, with many of us celebrating by spending money on our significant others, beloved pets and even ourselves. It’s safe to say that Valentine’s Day has grown to become a special day all over the world. But, how much does the day really cost – and just who are we shelling out for this 14 February?

  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%).

  • Gender differences
  • Table

  Spend	Female	Male
  £0	18.68%	13.22%
  £1-£10	19.27%	11.19%
  £11-£20	11.21%	8.85%
  £21-£40	10.03%	9.66%
  £41-£60	4.82%	11.09%
  £61-£80	1.97%	5.19%
  £81-£100	1.57%	4.27%
  £101-£150	0.69%	3.05%
  £151-£200	0.59%	0.71%
  £201+	0.39%	1.22%
  Won't be celebrating	30.78%	31.54%

  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.

  • Generational differences
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  On who	Millennial	Gen X	Baby boomer
  Wife/Husband	25.58%	55.00%	78.75%
  Boyfriend/Girlfriend	46.22%	19.57%	13.35%
  Pet dog	4.94%	4.13%	3.00%
  Pet cat	3.78%	3.26%	1.09%
  Friends	5.52%	1.30%	2.18%
  Kids	2.91%	6.30%	3.00%
  Other family members	3.20%	1.74%	1.91%
  Myself	3.49%	1.30%	1.09%

  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.

  • Unwanted gifts
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  How often	Percentage
  Most years	36.2%
  Some years	28.3%
  I've never received a Valentine's Day gift that I've liked	20.3%
  I always like the gifts I receive for Valentine's Day	9.1%

  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 one in five 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