Valentine's Day Economics

chillibreeze writer — Viji Viswanath

Increasingly, Valentine’s Day seems to have become an occasion that’s less about love and more about spending – who spent how much and which industry did better than the other, and of course, Cupid’s recession woes! Valentine’s Day is no longer about handwritten cards and handmade gifts. It’s about mass-produced greeting cards and other tokens of affection sold by the bulk in stores. About a billion greeting cards are exchanged around the world on Valentine’s Day – and we have just begun to talk about numbers here!

In the US alone, Valentine’s Day related commerce has a turnover of about $14 billion – equivalent to Botswana’s annual GDP! What do numbers such as this indicate? Consumer spending, of course! It is a known fact that the industries that benefit the most around Valentine’s Day are in the domain of flowers, cards, jewelry, clothing/accessories, chocolates, hotels, and electronics.

Countries like Columbia, Ecuador, Netherlands and even Africa make most of their flower exports during Valentine’s Day. Kenyan roses account for a quarter of Europe’s cut flower imports. On a more micro level, sales of flowers on Valentine’s Day match sales during Christmas and Mother’s Day. Needless to say, red roses top the charts when it comes to flowers on Valentine’s Day.

The chocolate industry is experiencing a boom not just before and on Valentine’s Day but also the day after. Wonder why? Bargain-hunters make the most of the day after Valentine’s, taking advantage of the clearance-priced chocolates and candies. Chocolates sales have been on the rise in these recessionary times since people are opting to buy chocolates instead of more expensive gifts for their loved ones.

Restaurants, pubs, discos, and multiplexes are also doing exceptionally well around Valentine’s Day as couples head to these destinations to celebrate and cozy up.

Apparel, lingerie, and jewelry businesses, however, are not doing as well as expected. Jewelry seems exorbitantly priced for people still reeling under the effects of the recession.

Many research companies have a lot of fun predicting how much money is involved in celebrating Valentine’s Day every year. In the United States, it seems individuals will spend a total of $102 out of which $63 would be spent on their partners – 6% lower than what they spent last year. It is also predicted that they will spend around $5 on their friends and $3 on their pets. On the contrary, Valentines Day in Asia is celebrated with a difference – it is not just about giving gifts and cards. In Philippines, thousands of couples gather to create world records of most couples kissing in one event. In Thailand, Valentine’s Day is celebrated by joining the world’s largest bride and groom – two elephants! This is complemented by organizing the world’s largest mass-wedding and under-water wedding to mark the Thai wedding ceremonies, food and culture.

Valentine’s Day might be one of the most awaited days of the year, and surely means a lot to myriad businesses, but just like any other issue-at-hand, it is not devoid of controversy. Who hasn’t heard of the child labor issue on cocoa farms in West Africa and the pressure on chocolate companies to sign the ‘Commitment to Ethical Cocoa Sourcing’? Or the recent McDonalds toy menu issue when they excluded the ‘pig’ initially, thus hurting Chinese sentiments in Singapore? If every individual contributed a dollar to help the needy or to support a cause, that would give so much more meaning to the concept of Valentine’s Day, traditionally meant only for lovers. How’s that for Valentine’s Day economics?

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in March, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

A Chartered Accountant by qualification, backed with a couple of years of corporate experience with organisations like the Unilever group, Colgate and Synovate, Viji’s main expertise lies in business writing, writing on finance issues and the like. She also writes poetry! Some of her other qualifications include a postgraduate diploma in Securities Law, along with having completed her masters in commerce from Mumbai university. She is based out of Houston, Texas currently.

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