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HOW CHEAP IS YOUR LOVE?


AMERICANS WILL SPEND $24 BILLION ON VALENTINE’S DAY IN 2022

REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Americans are spending to say "I love you."
From our Obsession
How we spend
Consumers' preferences, priorities, and values are reshaping industries.
 * 

By Camille Squires

Cities reporter

Published February 13, 2022

Americans are spending more to show their love this Valentine’s Day. Across the
US, people are expected to spend $23.9 billion on Valentine’s Day gifts this
year, up from $21.8 billion in 2021, according to a survey from the National
Retail Federation. Of course, inflation has something to do with that. This rise
in valentines spending represents a 9.6% increase. US prices have risen 7.5% in
the last year.



Many people are largely sticking with the classics. More than half of those
surveyed said they intended to buy chocolate, and 40% planned to buy greeting
cards.  But experiential gifts like theater or concert tickets are also gaining
popularity as people return to activities that were stymied by pandemic
restrictions last year.


VALENTINE’S DAY RESTAURANT RESERVATIONS ARE UP 30% IN 2022

More survey respondents this year said they wanted to treat their significant
other to a night out. Overall, NRF expects Americans to spend $4.3 billion on
“evening out” experiences. Restaurant reservation site OpenTable reported a 30%
increase in reservations for Feb. 14 compared to last year. The amount of
restaurant dining this year is well above 2021 levels.




US CONSUMERS ARE BUYING MORE STUFF AND TRAVELING LESS

National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay sees this as a continuation of the
sharp increase in consumer spending that’s been going on throughout 2021. Many
Americans bought more goods as they found themselves with more money from
savings and government stimulus checks, and fewer places to go. This culminated
in some $887 billion in holiday spending, a 14% increase that threatened to
stress already-stretched supply chains but ultimately didn’t.

Valentine’s Day shoppers are also facing higher prices this year thanks to the
highest level of inflation in 40 years. Food prices rose 0.9% in January 2022,
making the bill for those romantic Valentine’s dinners even more pricey.
Overall, an average consumer is expected to spend $175.41 on gifts, up from
$164.76 last year.

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QUARTZ ESSENTIALS

Facts and figures to help you put this story in context.

 * How we spend
   Consumers' preferences, priorities, and values are reshaping industries.
   
   Tip: tap card to advance👉Next
   
   
   THE MOST PRESSING QUESTION
   
   > Does anyone stand a chance against Amazon?
   
   In the US at least, the company has been gobbling up an increasing share of
   retail, and with Covid-19 pushing more shoppers online, Amazon has only
   gotten stronger. Once famous for prioritizing growth over profit, the company
   is now enjoying both. Meanwhile, US regulators fear Amazon is so dominant it
   should be regulated like a railroad.
   
   Amazon still has tough competition though. Walmart, for one, remains much
   bigger, and its network of more than 5,000 US stores has proved to be an
   advantage during the pandemic.
   
   
   BY THE DIGITS
   
   2.3: Physical retail space per capita, in square meters, in the US
   
   0.7: Physical retail space per capita, in square meters, in China
   
   75%: Asia-Pacific region’s share of the world’s retail growth
   
   81%: Share of e-commerce forecast to take place on phones in Asia-Pacific by
   2023
   
   43%: Share of e-commerce forecast to take place on phones in the US by 2023
   
   
   ONE BIG NUMBER
   
   
   Closed signs are seen on an AMC Theatre during the outbreak of the
   coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in New York City, U.S., April 29, 2020.
   REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
   
   $780 million: The approximate drop in market capitalization of AMC
   Entertainment, owner of the biggest theater chain in the world, between
   October 2019 and October 2020. The pandemic has shut theaters in huge
   numbers, hammering their operators’ profits. AMC, which operates more than
   1,000 theaters across 15 countries, was hit so hard it has warned of the
   possibility of bankruptcy—and just in time for its centennial. The box office
   isn’t suffering everywhere though. While Hollywood idles, Japan’s movie
   market is breaking records.
   
   
   CHARTING DISNEY’S PIVOT
   
   Though Disney built its mouse house on parks and box-office hits, streaming
   looks to be its future. The company was already headed in that direction, but
   the pandemic accelerated things. Disney’s theatrical and theme park
   businesses have been devastated by the pandemic, and neither will recover to
   prior levels of profit anytime soon (if ever). Streaming, however, has
   remained the company’s lone bright spot: Disney+ attracted more than 60
   million global subscribers less than a year after launching.
   
   
   
   
   QUOTABLE
   
   “By means of glasses, hotbeds, and hotwalls, very good grapes can be raised
   in Scotland, and very good wine too can be made of them at about thirty times
   the expense for which at least equally good can be brought from foreign
   countries. Would it be a reasonable law to prohibit the importation of all
   foreign wines, merely to encourage the making of claret and burgundy in
   Scotland?” —Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
   
   
   COMMONLY HELD QUESTION
   
   > Once the pandemic is over, will we still do all our shopping online?
   
   From the first quarter of 2020 to the second, the US Census found e-commerce
   grew as much as it had in the past four years. Digital sales have similarly
   jumped in regions such as Asia, where online shopping was already more
   prevalent. Some of that growth will inevitably moderate, but experts believe
   more online shopping is just part of the new normal. Consumers are creatures
   of habit, and Covid-19 has forced big changes in those habits. Shoppers who
   never before bought items such as groceries, clothes, or workout equipment
   online are now doing so. At least some of that behavior is likely to stick.
   
   
   PERSON OF INTEREST
   
   
   Image copyright: Reuters/Christian Hartmann
   
   Whether you treat yourself to a Louis Vuitton bag, a bottle of Hennessy, Dior
   shoes, skincare from Sephora, or a Tag Heuer watch, you’re feeding the
   pockets of this man: Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury
   group. Arnault’s empire includes a dizzying number of brands—75 in total
   across the group, with combined sales of more than $60 billion in 2019. Known
   as the “wolf in cashmere” because of his merciless business maneuvering, he
   built LVMH into the company it is today and led a lucrative shift in luxury
   that made it a commodity accessible to the global middle classes, not just
   the rich. He ranks among the wealthiest men in the world, and may soon have
   another jewel in his crown if LVMH’s pandemic-interrupted purchase of famed
   jeweler Tiffany is completed.
   
   
   KEEP READING
   
    *  Retail’s future is in Asia. The region is a fast adopter of new shopping
      technologies.
    *  Macy’s is planning a future outside of malls. The ultimate anchor tenant
      wants out.
    *  Movie theaters are negotiating for their survival. Streaming is changing
      the rules of the game.
    *  TikTok is a sleeping e-commerce giant. With 850 million users, the
      opportunities for engagement with products are enormous.
    *  Covid-19 is changing our shopping habits. From gardening supplies to
      workout equipment, the pandemic has altered how and what we buy.
    *  The Price of Everything: Finding Method in the Madness of What Things
      Cost. Economics reporter Eduardo Porter unravels how there is a price for
      anything imaginable, from a telephone call to a human soul. 
   
   
   
   
   SIGN UP FOR THE QUARTZ DAILY BRIEF
   
   
   
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   BRIEF HISTORY
   
   The first item sold securely online was Ten Summoner’s Tales, a Sting CD,
   which was bought on Aug. 11, 1994 when the World Wide Web was in its infancy.
   While internet precursors had been used before to sell items—including,
   famously, a bag of weed sold by Stanford students to their counterparts at
   MIT—those sales were consummated in person. The CD purchase was the first
   transacted over the internet using a credit card, on Netmarket, one of the
   few dozen websites that then existed. From that $12.48 sale (plus shipping)
   was born a $3.46 trillion industry.
   
   
   FUN FACT
   
   
   Image copyright: Reuters/Christian Hartmann
   
   Would you invest in a handbag? You might if it was a Birkin, the much
   sought-after, iconic accessory made by Hermès that retail for as much as
   $200,000.
   
   Unlike most consumer goods, there is a robust secondary market for Birkins,
   and they appreciate in value quickly. According to one analysis, Hermès bags
   increased in value 13% over 12 months, beating other collectibles like
   stamps, wine, and even fine art.
   
   
   DIY
   
   Where clothes are concerned, we’re buying more, spending less, and wearing
   items for shorter periods before discarding them. One way to slow the deluge
   of used clothing pouring into landfills every year, or at least extricate
   yourself from it a bit, is to buy more of your fashion used. Because of the
   internet, it’s never been easier to do so. The past decade has seen a
   flourishing of secondhand retailers, from online marketplaces to luxury
   resale sites that have drawn big brands like Gucci to participate.
   
   ←
   
   1 of 12
   
   →
 * 




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