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A week before Valentine’s Day on February 14th, the trade association analyzed the purchasing behavior of Austrians together with Mindtake Research. The most common gifts given are flowers and plants (53 percent), followed by sweets (24 percent), restaurant visits (14 percent), non-material gifts such as excursions (12 percent) and vouchers (10 percent).
“Retailers are happy about good sales on Valentine’s Day. This year, 71 euros per person are spent on gifts. Last year, Mr. and Mrs. Austrians were a little more generous with 73 euros; two years ago this value was even 84 euros. Nevertheless, they are Additional income for the trade of around 150 million euros is respectable,” says trade association managing director Rainer Will about the results of the survey.
“As in previous years, this year flowers and plants are by far the most popular Valentine’s Day gift at 53%, followed by sweets at 24%. The top surprises also include restaurant visits as well as vouchers and non-material gifts such as trips,” says Will .
The significance of Valentine’s Day is also a question of age: the younger, the faster the heart beats. Accordingly, unmarried people predominate among the recipients. A third of those surveyed said they gave gifts to their partners. But mothers also like to be surprised: 12 percent make their mother happy on the day of love, 6 percent give gifts to friends, 3 percent give gifts to other relatives. A third said in the survey that they don’t give gifts to anyone at all.
Carinthians and Burgenlanders are the most generous
On average, each person who gives someone a gift for Valentine’s Day will spend 71 euros on it this year. “In Carinthia, the average per capita spending on Valentine’s Day this year is an impressive 89 euros, in Burgenland it is 88 euros and in Upper Austria it is at least 81 euros. Salzburg is also clearly above average at 79 euros,” says industry spokesman Will. The bottom performers this year are Vorarlberg (55 euros) and Lower Austria (54 euros).
Unlike other holidays, Valentine’s Day shopping is almost entirely done in brick-and-mortar stores. Only one in ten respondents wants to buy something for the day online. Most of the rest rely on stationary shops on this day – primarily the flower or confectionery shop around the corner.
- Read here: Valentine’s Day: Say it through flowers
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