With Valentine’s Day approaching, Americans are shopping for their celebrations — and there are significant differences between how men and women buy for the occasion, according to “Valentine’s Day Shopping: Men Will Spend More, But Women Will Buy Early,” the latest Advantage Solutions Pulse Survey of more than 750 U.S. adults.
In late January, men were planning to spend more money, in more ways, including buying champagne, wine and flowers. But many men planned to wait until the last minute — with just a couple of days till Valentine’s Day — to make their purchases of candy and cards, while women said they’d shop weeks ahead.
Among key findings of the survey:
- Nearly four in 10 men expected to spend $51-$100 on Valentine’s Day food items, including candy and alcoholic beverages, and another 40% planned to spend upwards of $100. Meanwhile, one-third of women planned to spend in the $26-$50 range on food and more than a quarter anticipated spending $25 or less.
- More than 60% of men and one-third of women said they would purchase flowers or plants for the occasion, while Valentine’s Day cards lead all non-food purchases with nearly six in 10 of all respondents planning to buy them.
- More than one-third of men said they plan to purchase candy one or two days before Valentine’s Day and one-quarter expected to do the same for Valentine’s Day cards, while one-third of women planned to purchase both candy and Valentine’s Day cards two to three weeks ahead of time.
- When it comes to two of the most common Valentine’s Day purchases — candy and Valentine’s Day cards — consumers overwhelmingly planned to do their shopping at mass retailers such as Walmart and Target, with 62% expected to buy Valentine’s candy at these stores and 57% planning to buy cards there.