• Men will be injecting a whopping £622m into Britain’s economy whilst women will be contributing £354m - all in the name of love
• Britons are spending £98m more this Valentines Day compared to 2012
• Britons vote Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge as their most inspiring romantic couple
The UK economy will enjoy its biggest Valentine’s boost since the recession started according to a new consumer spending report out today. Loved up Britons will boost retail sales by £978 million this Valentine’s Day – which is an increase of £98 million from last year. In addition, for the second year running, British men are delving even deeper into their pockets, in a bid to woo their Valentine.
The annual spending study conducted by Travelodge with 2,000 British adults has revealed that the trend for British men to indulge their partner with gifts on the most romantic day of the year is growing at pace. Key research findings have revealed this year, seven out of ten British men will be spending on average £39.57 wooing their Valentine.
In comparison 65% of British women are spending around half of what men are proposing to spend on romantic gifts, which is £22.64.
In total, this Valentine’s Day, men will be injecting a whopping £622 million into Britain’s economy whilst women will be making a contribution of £354 million.
When asked to why men are spending more this Valentine’s Day, 42% of male respondents reported that the double dip recession has put a strain on their relationship. Therefore they are going to invest a little more money into this Valentine’s Day, so that they can show their partner how much they love them.
The study delved further to investigate in which UK cities, men will be spending the most money this Valentine’s Day. Sheffield men topped the poll in first place with average spend of £63.03 and in second place it is men from York with an average spend of £62.67.
Essex men from Chelmsford topped the poll in third position for being the biggest romantic spenders with an average spend of £58.36.
In contrast, thrifty Scottish men topped the poll for spending the least amount of money for Valentine’s Day with men from Aberdeen spending just £5.00. Welsh men followed suit with Aberystwyth lovers taking second place of scrooges spending just £8.00 and Swansea men spending marginally more with £8.35 to take third place.
Listed below are the top UK cities where men will be spending the most this Valentine’s Day:
CITIES SPENDING THE MOST:
Sheffield £63.03
York £62.67
Chelmsford £58.36
Cambridge £53.33
Birmingham £52.92
Leicester £48.25
Belfast £47.27
Newcastle £43.77
Manchester £42.60
Bristol £41.67
Listed below are the top UK cities where men will be spending the lest this Valentine’s Day:
CITIES SPENDING THE LEAST:
Aberdeen £5.00
Aberystwyth £8.00
Swansea £8.33
Liverpool £12.50
Brighton & Hove £17.81
Southampton £18.57
Coventry £20.00
Portsmouth £26.43
Gloucester £26.58
Norwich £28.04
The study also revealed, even though more men are splashing out this Valentine’s Day, some romantic traditions don’t change as a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates are still the top purchases men are making this Valentine’s Day.
However these purchases will not really impress the ladies as research findings revealed women just want the simple things in life that include a little thought and effort such as:
• Fifteen per cent of British women just want to hear the three magic words from their partner – I Love You this Valentines Day
• A quarter of women (26%) want to be whisked away to a hotel and romanced
• One in ten women want to romanced and receive a love letter or poem from their partner – like Mr Big did in the Sex and The City movie
• Ten per cent of females want their partner to cook them a meal and most importantly clear up afterwards too.
Listed below are the top ten gifts men and women are purchasing this Valentine’s Day:
Ten most popular gifts men are buying this year Ten most popular gifts women are buying this year
Flowers Chocolates
Chocolates Dinner
Perfume Aftershave
Dinner Flowers
Champagne Game for console
Lingerie Clothing
A night in a hotel A cuddly toy
Jewellery A night in a hotel
A UK city break A spa day
A spa day Cake
Corinne Sweet, Relationship Psychologist, said: “The high cost of romance is not surprising in today's 'easy buy / time poor' culture. Many people, especially men, spend money to please or appease, when their partners would simply like to have more time, thought and appreciation from them.
“It's easy to click a button or flash a card to buy love, in comparison to spending some quality time together, cooking a meal, giving a massage or making a card. However, the personal touch, the little thoughtful gesture, is often more a sign of true love and commitment than extravagant, OTT romantic gestures".
Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge Spokeswoman said: “Love is certainly in the air this Valentine’s Day as couples go all out to celebrate their love for one another. As February 14th falls on a Thursday this year, we have seen a surge in Britons booking a long weekend getaway in order to make the most of this romantic celebration. Top lovers hotspots include historic UK cities such as: London, Edinburgh, York, Liverpool, Oxford and beautiful rural locals such as the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District. Also despite the weather coastal locations are also popular, such as Brighton, Torquay, Newquay and Scarborough.”
Further research findings revealed 20% of British men feel disappointed by the effort their partner puts into making Valentine’s Day special for them. Over two thirds of men reported they would like more romance in their lives.
Seventy two per cent of males stated they take romantic inspiration from films and movies and one in ten men admitted to stealing ideas from their mate’s relationships. Male respondents voted Casablanca as their top all time most romantic movie.
The research identified the one thing both men and women both agree on, their most inspiring romantic couple is Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, followed by David and Victoria Beckham and the Queen and Prince Philip in third place.
Listed below is the nation’s top ten most inspiring couples
1. Prince William and The Duchess of Cambridge
2. David and Victoria Beckham
3. Prince Phillip and The Queen
4. Jay-Z and Beyonce
5. Romeo and Juliet
6. Ant and Dec
7. Barrack and Michelle Obama
8. Brad and Angelina
9. Edward and Bella (Twilight)
10. Ross and Rachel from Friends
-end-
Notes to editors:
1. Research was conducted by OnePoll in January 2013
2. The calculation of total spend is:
- 65% of women are going to spend on average £22.64 this Valentines Day. (65% of women is 15,679,105 = £354,974,937
- 70% of men are going to spend on average £39.57 this Valentines Day (70% of men is 157,439,100) = £622,986,519
Total = £977,961,456