A lot of love to share with Valentine’s Day to deliver a $415 million spending boom
Australians are set to spend $415 million on Valentines Day gifts this year, with flowers, chocolates and jewellery the most popular items people will be getting their significant others.
Research from the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), in conjunction with Roy Morgan, shows Australians will be spending an average amount of $111 on their gifts.
Flowers will be in hot demand, mentioned by 39% of people who plan on buying a gift followed by chocolates/food and alcohol (28%) and jewellery (9%). Consumers in NSW are set to spend $126 million on their Valentines Day gifts, with Victorians to spend $107 million and Queenslanders $77 million.
Around a third of those surveyed say they plan to splurge more on gifts this year than they did 12 months ago with the majority (65%) saying they’ll be spending about the same amount.
The bulk of the spending is set to be done by 25-34 year old’s, who’ll spend $135 million and 35-49 year old’s who’ll spend $129 million.
ARA CEO Paul Zahra said only 8% of those surveyed would be spending their Valentines Day dining out, which may reflect the ongoing Covid concerns of consumers.
“There’s no doubt consumer confidence has been severely impacted by Omicron, but our research shows Australians will still be spoiling their loved ones this Valentine’s Day, with flowers and chocolates in high demand,” Mr Zahra said.
“For florists, this is their busiest day of the year, and it would normally be for restaurants as well, however the sector has been severely impacted by staff shortages, Covid isolations, and people generally being a bit more cautious with their social interactions.
“We’re unlikely to see the usual volumes of people going out for their Valentine’s Day dinner dates, which is disappointing. We encourage people to support their favourite restaurants whichever way they can, even if it means ordering in a romantic dinner at home.
“Valentine’s Day is a much bigger deal for younger Australians with 38% of 18-24 year old’s planning on buying a gift. However, that number tapers off in the older age cohorts. Just 7% of people over the age of 65 plan on celebrating the day, so perhaps the significance of Valentine’s Day wares off the older you get and when you’re in a long, comfortable relationship!”
The ARA-Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with an Australian-wide cross-section of 2,717 Australians aged 18+ on Wednesday January 19 - Thursday January 20, 2022.
Question 1
“Do you plan on buying gift/s for Valentine’s Day which is held next month on February 14?” By Gender & Age.
| Australians 18+ |
Gender | Age | ||||||
| Men | Women | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-49 | 50-64 | 65+ | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Yes | 19 | 24 | 13 | 38 | 29 | 18 | 14 | 7 |
| No | 81 | 76 | 87 | 62 | 71 | 82 | 86 | 93 |
| TOTAL | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
“Do you plan on buying gift/s for Valentine’s Day which is held next month on February 14?” By State & Area.
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Question 2
“What gift/s are you planning on buying for Valentine’s Day?” Of those who mentioned a gift. Respondents were allowed to mention multiple gifts they are planning on giving.
By Gender & Age.
For those who already know what gift they plan to buy… (Top 3 Highlighted)
#Sample sizes with fewer than 50 respondents should be treated with caution.
Question 2
“What gift/s are you planning on buying for Valentine’s Day?” Of those who mentioned a gift. Respondents were allowed to mention multiple gifts they are planning on giving.
By State & Area.
For those who already know what gift they plan to buy… (Top 3 Highlighted)
#Sample sizes with fewer than 50 respondents should be treated with caution.
Question 3
“How much do you plan on spending on Valentine’s Day gift/s?” By Gender & Age.
| Australians 18+ |
Gender | Age | ||||||
| Men | Women | 18-24# | 25-34 | 35-49 | 50-64 | 65+# | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Less than $50 | 29 | 23 | 40 | 32 | 31 | 27 | 26 | 32 |
| $50 – $99 | 32 | 36 | 26 | 48 | 20 | 39 | 29 | 32 |
| $100 – $199 | 26 | 24 | 28 | 20 | 33 | 17 | 35 | 20 |
| $200 or more | 13 | 17 | 6 | – | 16 | 17 | 10 | 16 |
| TOTAL | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Mean spending | $111 | $132 | $73 | $78 | $125 | $139 | $90 | $85 |
| TOTAL SPENDING | $415M | $314M | $101M | $63M | $135M | $129M | $57M | $25M |
#Sample sizes with fewer than 50 respondents should be treated with caution.
“How much do you plan on spending on Valentine’s Day gift/s?” By State & Area
| City/Country | States | ||||||||
| Australians 18+ |
Capital Cities |
Country Areas |
NSW | VIC | QLD | WA# | SA# | TAS# | |
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Less than $50 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 36 | 28 | 22 | 16 | 48 | 17 |
| $50 – $99 | 32 | 32 | 33 | 22 | 37 | 42 | 36 | 37 | 40 |
| $100 – $199 | 26 | 25 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 28 | 25 | 7 | 33 |
| $200 or more | 13 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 8 | 10 |
| TOTAL | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Mean spending | $111 | $120 | $92 | $109 | $124 | $86 | $166 | $56 | $100 |
| TOTAL SPENDING | $415M | $308M | $108M | $126M | $107M | $77M | $57M | $15M | $5M |
#Sample sizes with fewer than 50 respondents should be treated with caution.
Question 4
“Do you plan on spending more or less on Valentine’s Day gift/s than last year?”
By Gender & Age.
| Australians 18+ |
Gender | Age | ||||||
| Men# | Women# | 18-24# | 25-34# | 35-49# | 50-64# | 65+# | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| More | 29 | 29 | 28 | 49 | 26 | 13 | 31 | 44 |
| Same | 65 | 68 | 55 | 51 | 66 | 79 | 62 | 56 |
| Less | 6 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
#Sample sizes with fewer than 50 respondents should be treated with caution.
Notable Gifts – Top 15 or so ($200+)
Tesla car ($60,000) – someone’s going to have a great Valentine’s Day
A couple’s trip away to a Day Spa ($3,000)
High-end expensive dresses and ‘haute couture’ ($1,500)
High-end electronics ($1,000+)
A couple’s weekend retreat and massage ($700)
Top-line Power tools ($500)
A designer bag ($500)
Jewellery or clothes ($400)
Electrical, exercise or wine ($300)
An expensive dinner out ($250+)
A night in a Hotel ($250)
Sexy lingerie ($200+)
Expensive perfume ($200+)
Flowers, chocolates, jewellery ($200+)
Fishing charter ($200+)
Cooking or other skills class ($200+)
The ARA-Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with an Australian-wide cross-section of 2,717 Australians aged 18+ on Wednesday January 19 - Thursday January 20, 2022.
Media Enquiries:
Dominic Cuschieri
M 0418 224 072
E Dominic.Cuschieri@retail.org.au
For comments or more information please contact:
Roy Morgan - Enquiries
Office: +61 (03) 9224 5309
askroymorgan@roymorgan.com
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
