49% of Celebrators Intend to Purchase Candy, 47% Plan to Purchase Gifts, 39% Plan to Dine Out
CHICAGO, February 12, 2024 (GlobeNewswire) – Numerator, a data and tech company serving the market research space, has released new data on how consumers plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day 2024, sourced from verified purchase data and a sentiment survey of over 5,100 consumers on their 2024 holiday intentions. Overall, 61% of consumers plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day, with gift giving and dining out the top ways to celebrate.
Consumer Sentiment Findings Include:
- Gen Z is the generation most likely to say they will celebrate Valentine’s Day 2024. Overall, 61% of consumers (+4 points from 2023) plan to celebrate the holiday, with Gen Z and Millennials even more likely to say they will celebrate (66% and 64%, respectively).
- One-third of consumers are making their Valentine’s Day plans a month out. 34% of celebrators said they make their Valentine’s Day plans over one month in advance, while only 17% wait until 1-2 days before.
- Valentine’s Day is the top holiday for dining out. 39% of celebrators plan to go out to eat to celebrate Valentine’s Day – more than any other holiday surveyed.
- Celebration plans vary by g Millennials are the most likely generation to say they will give gifts (44%), Boomers+ are the most likely to decorate their homes (20%), and Gen Z are the most likely to go out for drinks (21%).
- Almost all Valentine’s Day celebrants intend to purchase something for the holiday. 96% of celebrants plan to make a purchase for Valentine’s Day. The top planned purchases are candy (49%), gifts (47%), food (43%), and alcoholic beverages (17%).
- Valentine’s Day ranks third among holidays when it comes to planned candy purchases. While nearly half of Valentine’s Day celebrants plan to buy candy, the holiday still ranks behind Halloween (79%) and Easter (53%) for planned candy purchases.
- Valentine’s Day alcohol purchases vary by generation. Among those who plan to buy alcohol, wine is the top choice (43%), followed by spirits (41%), beer (36%), and champagne (34%). Boomers+ are the most likely generation to opt for wine, Gen X is the most likely to buy spirits, and Millennials are the most likely to buy champagne.
- Most Valentine’s Day shoppers expect to spend less than $100. 73% of celebrants plan to keep their purchasers under $100 for the holiday, and consumers plan to do their Valentine’s shopping at big box stores (40%), grocery stores (33%), online retailers (27%), and discount or dollar stores (23%).
Consumer Purchase Data Findings Include:
- In the four-week lead-up to Valentine’s Day 2023, 84% of US households purchased candy. Of the households that purchased candy, 40% bought Valentine’s candy specifically, 64% purchased non-seasonal chocolate candy, and 44% bought non-seasonal non-chocolate candy.
- Seasonal favorites see more buyers and more sales for Valentine’s Day. Elmer Chocolate and Russel Stover saw the largest sales increases (+626% and +104%, respectively) in the four-week lead-up to the holiday (compared to the previous four weeks).
- Candy shoppers are buying across big box, dollar, and grocery stores. Last year, Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree, Kroger, and Dollar General were the top candy retailers leading up to Valentine’s Day based on dollar sales–Dollar Tree & Dollar General saw 26% and 35% sales lifts, respectively.
Numerator’s 2024 Holiday Preview survey was fielded to 5,132 consumers in January 2024 and highlights consumers’ celebration, shopping and spending plans for 14 key holidays through the end of the year. 756 shoppers shared details of their Valentine’s Day plans. Valentine’s Day candy purchasing data was compiled using Numerator’s 150k household Total Commerce Panel, looking at data from 01/17/2023 to 02/14/2023 versus the prior four weeks.
About Numerator:
Numerator is a data and tech company bringing speed and scale to market research. Numerator blends first-party data from over 1 million US households with advanced technology to provide 360-degree consumer understanding for the market research industry that has been slow to change. Headquartered in Chicago, IL, Numerator has 2,000 employees worldwide; 80 of the top 100 CPG brands’ manufacturers are Numerator clients.
