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With January in the rearview mirror, sights are now set on Valentine’s Day as the next major holiday on the calendar. According to new consumer-declared data, nearly half (49%) of Americans are planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, roughly on par with intent from 2025. However, how they plan to celebrate is shifting. Among those celebrating, 39% will be doing something special at home–a four percentage point drop since last year. Meanwhile, those planning to visit a restaurant or bar saw a slight two-point uptick year over year.
Men, those making $100K+, and those who are married lead in intent to celebrate at a bar or restaurant, while women, Gen Z adults and those who are unmarried lead with going to a friend or family member’s house. It’s also worth noting that single respondents are twice as likely as those who are married to plan on going to an event–so they won’t be spending the day alone (among those celebrating).
Self-Gifting Rebounds Among Gen Z
While some may focus their spending on loved ones, others use Valentine’s Day as a means for practicing self-love. More than one-third (36%) of respondents tell CivicScience they plan to buy themselves a Valentine’s Day gift this year. This represents a three percentage point increase from last year, making it the second-highest year for anticipated self-gifting since 2022.
Gen Z continues to lead in self-gifting, with intent up 5 points year over year. This age group also outpaces other generations by at least 20 points. Coinciding with the rise from Gen Z, self-gifting intent is also highest among those earning under $50K.
It likely comes as no surprise that those who plan to buy themselves a Valentine’s Day gift are also more likely to splurge on themselves in general. For instance, those buying themselves a Valentine’s Day gift this year are most likely to tell CivicScience that they splurge on an expensive meal, physical pampering, clothing, or luxury products.
Chocolate Remains the Fan Favorite, But Men and Women Display Diverging Shopping Habits
When it comes to what consumers plan to purchase for others as gifts this year, candy and chocolate take first place (45%), followed by flowers (26%), clothing (23%), and beauty products (20%). Although candy and chocolate continue to be the crowd favorite for Valentine’s Day shoppers, the percentage buying from this category has fallen five percentage points since 2025. Meanwhile, clothing and beauty products have seen slight increases.
This year, while both men and women share a strong intent to buy candy and chocolate, flowers are the second most popular gift option for male buyers, while clothing is the second most popular gift option for female buyers.
Other Interesting Insights on Self-Gifters:
- 87% of those who plan to self-gift on Valentine’s Day also splurge beyond the holiday.
- Those who have felt the most fear and excitement demonstrate the highest intent to self-gift this Valentine’s Day.
- Valentine’s Day self-gifters are more than three times as likely as non-gifters to be shopping online more than usual this time of year.
- Fifty-four percent of self-gifters strongly believe that the economy will stay the same in the next six months.
- Those purchasing themselves a Valentine’s Day gift are 20 percentage points more likely than non-gifters to be spontaneous online shoppers.
- More than half (59%) of those ‘very strongly’ concerned about their current employment situation plan to self-gift.
- Valentine’s Day self-gifters show strong intent to subscribe to Peacock to watch the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Consumer-declared data like this enables you to dive beneath traditional demographics to reveal the specific drivers behind not just Valentine’s Day self-gifters but also any targeted segment like them. Insights like these provide CivicScience clients with opportunities to explore consumers’ mindsets and intentions in the months ahead.
