Data: Candy, jewelry prices up since last Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day chocolate is 8.3% more costly this year than last.

Valentine’s Day shoppers will pay more for certain items this year.

That’s according to new research from LendingTree, which used retailer websites to compare current prices on 48 Valentine’s Day-themed chocolates and 20 jewelry items to those in February 2024.

Valentine’s Day chocolate is 8.3% more costly this year than last, according to the data. Of the 48 products examined, 35 saw price increases in this period, while 11 held steady. Notably, only two saw a decrease, both at just 1 cent per ounce. Among chocolates with price increases between Valentine’s Day 2024 and 2025, the average jump was 11.5%.

Some products experienced more dramatic changes. For example, the M&M’s Valentine’s Milk Chocolate Classroom Exchange Bag saw a significant 35.4% per-ounce increase, while the Hershey’s Hugs & Kisses Assorted Milk Chocolate and White Creme Valentine’s Candy increased the least at 0.3%.

“While an increase in the price of chocolate doesn’t bode well for people whose budgets are already supertight, it’s surprising that prices didn’t grow more,” said LendingTree. “That’s because the producer price index, which measures changes in prices that producers receive for their goods and services, shows that the cost of chocolate and confectionary manufacturing jumped by 33.5% from December 2023 to December 2024.”

Similarly, Valentine’s Day jewelry is 4.5% more expensive than last year. Of the 20 jewelry items from Pandora and Macy’s examined by LendingTree, nine saw price increases from 2024 to 2025, while 11 remained the same. The jewelry that increased in price did so by an average of 9.9%, with the highest increase (40.0%) seen in the least expensive item — the Pandora Beaded Open Heart Charm, which rose from $25 to $35.

The item that saw the largest increase in dollar amount was the Grown With Love Lab Grown Ruby & Lab Grown Diamond Heart Halo Pendant Necklace in Gold. It is $50 more expensive this year than in 2024, rising from $2,000 to $2,050.

A recent analysis from the National Retail Federation estimated that consumers are expected to spend a record $27.5 billion on Valentine’s Day this year. The amount is up from last year’s $25.8 billion, and slightly above the previous record of $27.4 billion set in 2020.