Survey: Majority of shoppers to spend up to $100 on Valentine's Day gifts

Los Angeles -- Survey results released Thursday by PriceGrabber found that 62% of consumers plan to spend as much as $100 on gifts for Valentine’s Day, down from 68% in 2012. However, 36% plan to spend more than $100 compared with 28% last year.



According to the survey, when consumers who plan to celebrate Valentine's Day were asked about their spending habits compared with last year, 52% indicated they plan to spend the same amount as in 2012. Twenty-six percent will spend more, 17% will spend less, and 5% will not purchase a gift this year. PriceGrabber found that the economic climate continues to be a relevant factor in shoppers' mindsets, with 55% indicating the economy will have an effect on their Valentine's Day purchasing decisions in 2013.



When consumers were asked to select all of the ways in which they plan to purchase Valentine's Day gifts, 69% indicated they would buy gifts from a store, up from 54% in 2012. Fifty-six percent of consumers said they would purchase gifts online, a significant increase from 34% last year. This was followed by 5% of shoppers who indicated a purchase via electronic tablet device, compared with 1% in 2012; and 4% cited a purchase using a mobile phone, a slight increase from 2% last year.



"Consumers continue to shop and conduct product research in advance of making purchases in order to find the best pricing on products,” said Rojeh Avanesian, VP marketing and analytics, PriceGrabber.com. “We expect this trend to continue as shoppers hit the stores and go online to make their Valentine's Day gift purchases this year."



When consumers who plan to celebrate Valentine's Day were asked when they plan to purchase their gifts, 43% said they will do so one week in advance. Twenty-five percent of shoppers will purchase gifts two weeks prior to Valentine's Day, 22% will shop within 48 hours of the gift-giving day, and 10% will shop three weeks prior.