British romantics will spend a combined total of £3.6 billion on gifts for loved ones this Valentine’s Day according to Europe’s leading shopping search engine Kelkoo.
Men are set to be the biggest spenders, splashing out an average of £104 compared to the £75 that will be spent by women.
However, it is not just happy couples who will be celebrating Valentine’s Day.
Singletons plan to reclaim the day for themselves and use it as a time to express love for secret crushes or just to spoil themselves. One in three singletons (29%) plan to buy themselves a gift on the day and one in ten (11%) plan to take the initiative to go out in search of that special someone.
And couples must take heed when it comes to present buying “ill thought out” gifts are instrumental in ruining Valentine’s Day for couples. The research revealed just how wrong people get it on the day with presents ranging from tacky underwear, counterfeit perfume that caused a rash on skin contact, a bag of chips and, unflatteringly enough, a pot of anti-aging cream.
“We expect our partners to know us well, so great expectations abound on Valentine’s Day,” commented Hanif Virani, Director of Product and Merchandising at Kelkoo. “When our partner gets it wrong it may be taken as a sign that they are not as close to us as we would like.”
So before you nip out to purchase your Valentine’s gift, take a minute to think it through and bare the following tips in mind:
·Firstly, never underestimate the importance of a card. More than half (54%) of all participants acknowledged that, whilst cheap, a card means a lot.
·Secondly, despite the predicted spend, many of us will need to dig a little deeper to truly impress with 56% of us expecting to be whisked away for a romantic weekend break.
·Finally, if budget is an issue then the gift of choice for the woman in your life is flowers, with 57% selecting this as their third choice. Men, in comparison are a little cheaper to please with 39% opting for “some good old fashioned lovin’!”
If you really want to ensure you get it right this year then look no further than Kelkoo’s Valentine’s pages. Compiled by a team of shopping experts, these pages offer a one-stop-shop for clueless romantics with everything from underwear and jewellery to spa days. To make things even easier, Kelkoo has drawn up a list of the top 5 gifts that are being searched for in the run up to the big day