A Valentine’s Day sweet tooth could lead to a spend increase in candy: Survey

Consumers are planning to indulge their Valentine’s sweet tooth this year, with two out of three Valentine’s Day shoppers look to keep their candy spending on par with prior years, while one in five are planning to spend more this year.

Plus, 65% expect their total Valentine’s spending to fall between $21 - $100, according to Numerator 2022 Valentine’s Day Survey.

Numerator, a data and tech company serving the market research space, notes “consumers indicate a willingness to return to pre-pandemic behaviours across celebration plans, gifting categories, and shopping methods. Alcohol showed the steepest increase in intended gifting while electronics and jewelry continued to decline as consumers plan to shop for Valentine’s Day gifts.”

• 52% of Valentine’s Day celebrators planning to buy gifts, either for themselves or for others, an increase of 4 points from Valentine’s Day 2021
• More than one-third (36%) of consumers intend to go out for food or drinks on Valentine’s Day this year, up from 17% in 2021, and climbing back toward the 45% of consumers who planned to dine out in February 2020.
• Both cooking at home and ordering takeout food were the only two celebration plans to gain popularity during the pandemic, growing 10+ points from 2020 to 2021. In 2022, both showed only slight decreases, indicating that these behaviours may be lasting.