How Consumers Will Celebrate Valentine’s Day in 2023

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Walmart shoppers are preparing to spread the love this February 14th. 64% of surveyed shoppers plan to celebrate Valentine's Day this year, just up from 61% last year. Men are more likely to plan to celebrate the holiday with their significant other. Candy and chocolate remain the most popular planned purchase items for Valentine's Day—76% of shoppers say they plan to buy these treats. Cards and flowers are also high up on the list, with 53% saying that those will be in their baskets this year.

Walmart shoppers are spreading the love this year and are planning to celebrate their Valentine's Day by keeping loved ones close. More customers plan to celebrate Valentine's Day this year than last year. In a recent Walmart Spark Community Survey¹, we asked 878 verified Walmart shoppers how they planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day and what influences their spending. We found that 64% of Walmart shoppers plan to celebrate on Feb. 14 this year, up from 61% last year.

Of those who are celebrating, nearly two-thirds (61%) will do so with their significant other. Another 51% of people say they'll celebrate the holiday by spending time with family members and friends—and 46% plan to observe it as a day for kids. Interestingly, men are more likely to celebrate Valentine's Day with their significant other (70% vs. 60%) while women are more likely to celebrate the holiday with their children (51% vs. 28%), or with friends (18% vs. 8%).

Valentine’s Day on a budget

When it comes to the cost of love, 27% of Walmart shoppers say they plan to spend around the same amount on Valentine’s Day gifts as last year - between $25 and $49 despite the current economic landscape. However, 26% of men are prepared to open their wallets and spend more than $100 on the people they love. Only 25% say they plan to spend more and 14% say they are going to spend less. And to make sure they stick to their budget, shoppers are leaning into sales and promotions (49%), store display suggestions (41%), and traditions (40%).

Sweets remain a Valentine’s Day must-have

Candy and chocolate remain the most popular planned purchase items—76% of shoppers say they plan to purchase these treats. But, what’s Valentine’s Day without flowers and cards? Over 80% of shoppers plan to make room for those items in their carts. Many shoppers over the age of 55 are sticking with traditional gifts and leaving flashier gifts to younger shoppers. 29% of shoppers aged 18 to 34 say they are most likely going to buy jewelry or electronics for a loved one, compared to only 14% of shoppers 55+.

Customers are planning their shopping trips early

Customers aren't waiting until the last minute for their gifts. More than half of shoppers (56%) plan to begin their Valentine's Day shopping during the weeks of January 29 and February 5. Only 16% of shoppers will wait until the last minute and pick up something special the week of Valentine's Day, with 21% of those shoppers being male. Most shoppers (70%) plan to make their purchases in stores, and many say they will do so during routine shopping trips. However, the percentage of shoppers who intend to make purchases online at Walmart.com or using the Walmart app follows closely with 59%.

About Walmart Luminate

Walmart Luminate is a suite of data products that gives. U.S.-based merchants and suppliers unprecedented access to rich, aggregated, customer insights that enables smarter, faster decision-making. Within our unique closed-loop data ecosystem, Walmart Luminate uses advanced data science to synthesize data from across the omnichannel path to purchase, allowing suppliers to analyze shopper behavior and channel performance, gather input directly from customers, test new growth strategies, and measure impact. The three modules that make up Walmart Luminate – Shopper Behavior, Channel Performance, and Customer Perception – help make the jobs of merchants and suppliers easier with a single, omni-view of customer habits and needs in a dynamic, user-friendly tool.

1. _{Proprietary First-Party Data, Walmart Customer Spark Community. January 2023.}
   
2. _{Walmart Luminate conducted this survey of 878 verified members of the Walmart Spark Community between January 24 and 27.}