Valentine’s Day retains an allure for British consumers who spent £335m on Valentine-related items last year, including £30m on boxed chocolates, £32m on greetings cards and £21m on roses.

The figures come from Nielsen, whose Analytics Team lead Hollie Kernohan expects the picture to be broadly the same this year.

But she adds that last year there were specific buyer groups more invested in spending on Valentine’s Day than others. The most popular age group was 35-44 year olds (22%), with drinkers of craft beer (23%), and spirits (16%) and prosecco (18%) also being the most likely to spend.

“This shows that there is an opportunity for such brands to take advantage of Valentine’s Day and expand ranges and offers,” she suggests.

The day is also becoming about more than couples, as over half of households with kids are buying into it and getting the whole family involved in the celebrations.

Beyond the usual flowers and chocolates buys, supermarkets are hoping to entice busy and price-conscious consumers with own-label meal deals as Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday during the school term. And with cash savings of up £20 possible, such meals may be an attractive alternative to an expensive dinner in a restaurant.

It’s a huge opportunity for brands and retailers to ramp up promotions in order to attract consumers who are looking to celebrate, says Josh Robertson, Account Analyst at Edge by Ascential. He notes that the major supermarkets are all offering a range of options for consumers and at competitive prices. Branded items in such meal promotions, however, are largely limited to the drinks category.

“This year, the supermarkets are also more inclusive of changing consumer tastes,” he adds, “with the likes of Morrisons, Tesco, Asda and Waitrose all including vegan options for all three courses.

“Retailers are also offering a growing number of low or no alcohol products, particularly Morrisons which is leading with an array of own-label ‘mocktail’ options.”

Sourced from WARC