Consumers Take Valentine’s Day Purchases Online

PriceGrabber.com (Los Angeles) has released the results of its 2013 Valentine’s Day Shopping Survey which found that 62 percent of shoppers planning to spend up to $100 on Valentine’s Day, down from 68 percent in 2012. Conversely, 36 percent plan to spend more than $100 in comparison to the 28 percent last year.

It was also discovered that more consumers are utilizing technology this year for their purchases: 56 percent plan to buy a gift online, up from 34 percent in 2012. Five percent of shoppers also said they would be purchasing gifts using tablets, up from a measly one percent; while four percent planned to use their mobile phones, an increase from two percent.

Other interesting figures include:

• 52 percent of shoppers plan to spend the same amount as in 2012
• 55 percent indicated the economy will have an effect on their Valentine’s Day purchasing decisions in 2013
• 69 percent of consumers said they will buy gifts from a store, up from 54% in 2012
• 39 percent plan to spend money on a night out

“Our survey showed that 36 percent of consumers plan to compare prices using their mobile phones when Valentine's Day gift shopping in brick-and-mortar stores, a jump from 29 percent in 2012, revealing that consumers are increasingly using their mobile devices to look for the best deals,” said Rojeh Avanesian, vp of marketing and analytics of PriceGrabber.com.