For the ninth year in a row, Valentine's Day gift-givers will be spending more on jewelry gifts than any other category, according to a survey just released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics. The record-breaking $6.5 billion earmarked for jewelry is up a tick from last year's tally of $6.4 billion.
Valentine gift spending across all categories is expected to hit $27.5 billion. This is up nearly 7% from 2024 and also breaks the record set in 2020 ($27.4 billion). Jewelry will be accounting for nearly a quarter of all the dollars spent on Valentine gifts this year.
Other top-spending gift categories include an evening out ($5.4 billion), flowers ($2.9 billion), candy ($2.5 billion) and greeting cards ($1.4 billion). The average shopper plans to spend $188.81 for Valentine's Day gifts this year, up from $185.81 in 2024.
Exactly 56% of consumers plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, an upward trend from 53% in 2024 and 52% in 2023. A higher portion of men are celebrating the holiday this year, with 55% saying they plan to participate in Valentine’s Day, up from 51% in 2024.
Total spending on significant others is expected to reach a new record of $14.6 billion, up from last year’s record of $14.2 billion. Total spending on gifts for family members is projected to reach $4.3 billion, up from $4 billion in 2024 and in line with 2020’s record of $4.2 billion.
Precisely 32% of consumers also plan to purchase gifts for friends this Valentine’s Day, up from 28% last year and the highest in the survey’s history. Another 19% expect to purchase gifts for co-workers, up from 16% in 2024 and another record. On par with last year, 32% also plan to purchase gifts for their pets.
Fifty-six percent of survey respondents intend to give candy in 2025, followed by flowers (40%), greeting cards (40%), an evening out (35%) and jewelry (22%).
“Consumers plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day through a variety of ways to show appreciation and love for the many different people around them,” Prosper Insights & Analytics Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said. “Purchasing gifts for those outside of significant others or family members continues to rise in popularity and reflects consumers’ growing interest in celebrating all the meaningful relationships in their lives.”
According to the NRF, among those not celebrating Valentine’s Day, 28% still plan to mark the occasion in some way. Many will treat themselves to something special, while others will plan a get-together or evening out with their single friends or family members.
As the leading authority and voice for the retail industry, NRF provides data on consumer behavior and spending for key periods, such as holidays throughout the year. The survey of 8,020 US adult consumers was conducted January 2-7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
Credits: Couple image by BigStockPhoto.com. Chart courtesy of the National Retail Federation.