Americans are expected to spent a record amount of money this year celebrating Valentine’s Day, according to an annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Proper Insights & Analytics.
The survey predicts those who celebrate Valentine’s Day will spent an average of $161.96 each to celebrate the annual celebration of love and affection, up 13 percent from last year, with total spending projected to reach $20.7 billion, a 6 percent increase. The average amount of spending on spouses and significant others has seen an increase too, reaching an average of $93.24.
Chatham County retailers are among those who will be on the receiving end of some of that spending.
Flowers: The Gift that Lives
Yvonne Petty, co-owner of The Floral Boutique in Bear Creek, says she almost fled from her first Valentine’s Day as a florist.
It was 1992, and she and her husband Bill had just opened the business a couple weeks before.
“I was not aware of what we were getting into,” Yvonne said. “It was just crazy.”
She was working with a friend to load arrangements on a truck and caught a whiff of fresh air out of the back of the shop the Pettys used to own.
But she stayed, and the Pettys are now on their 27th Valentine’s Day providing flowers for celebrants.
Of course, the recommendation is roses.
“On Valentine’s Day, flowers, especially roses, evoke romance and love,” Yvonne said. “You care, you care enough to go out and get flowers for me.”
The NRF projected that $1.9 billion will be spent this year on flowers, which will likely be purchased by 35 percent of consumers who spend.
The Society of American Florists estimates that 250 million roses are produced for Valentine’s Day. Sixty-three percent of Valentine’s Day purchasers buy them for spouses, while 20 percent buy them for a significant other.
With the sheer number of flowers bought, it takes a lot of preparation. Petty said Valentine’s Day is the “hardest” of the major holidays, which include Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“You’ve got to fix the flowers, you’ve got to get them out the door, you’ve got to get them delivered,” she said. “It’s just a wild day.”
The Floral Boutique will begin preparing the arrangements the day before, working into the night. Starting at 7 a.m. on Valentine’s Day, Petty, her husband and a couple of helpers finalize arrangements, schedule deliveries and get the flowers out the door. Even in the busyness of the day, Petty said she tries to take a moment and imagine what each arrangement is for.
“When I’m doing each one of them, I look at the name and I wonder what’s going on with them,” she said. “I like to just think about the person I’m doing it for.”
Gifts: Chocolates, Cards & Jewelry, to Start
According to Liz Mihalik, store manager of New Horizons Downtown in Pittsboro, there are two ways gift-givers can approach Valentine’s Day.
“You can be sweet and romantic or you can be funny and sassy,” Mihalik said. “I like the funny/sassy personally, so anything that’s got a little cheekiness to it.”
Nearly half of American spending for Valentine’s Day this year will come on jewelry ($3.9 billion), clothing ($2.1 billion), candy ($1.8 billion), gift cards ($1.3 billion) and greeting cards ($933 million). So it’s likely Americans will make a lot of trips to brick-and-mortar department stores or small, local businesses. In fact, according to the NRF, 14 percent of Valentine’s Day consumers are planning to visit small businesses like New Horizons.
As far as what to actually purchase, it depends on who you’re giving to. Along with reflecting the nature of the relationship or the gift recipient’s personality, Mihalik suggested finding products made nearby.
“Local stuff is always appreciated in today’s shopping community,” she said. “So anything locally made is nice.”
New Horizons Downtown, due to its central location, is usually ready by mid-January with a Valentine’s Day-related spread. There are greeting cards, candies and some jewelry, placed in the shop window and near the front door. Mihalik said the set-up is about making the store “top of mind” for people “when the panic sets in.” A 2013 survey said that 78 percent of people who celebrate Valentine’s Day plan to shop for it a week or less before the holiday.
“It’s kind of a last-minute holiday,” Mihalik said. “We won’t know what’s good until the day before because everybody comes in the day before.”
Valentine’s Day is the beginning of the yearly pattern of holidays that stores like New Horizons tackle. Next is Easter, then Mother’s Day, graduation season, Father’s Day, 4th of July, Halloween and Thanksgiving, capped by Christmas. Then repeat the cycle. Mihalik said the store has items already ordered for Easter.
“We love this time of year,” she said.