In a classic “Saturday Night Live” sketch, a young man hands his girlfriend a Valentine’s Day gift: a bear dressed in a bee costume that he picked up at the drugstore.
“When did you get this?” she asks with a strained smile.
“One minute ago,” he replies.
It has more than a ring of truth. For a day meant to celebrate romance and the depths of feeling we have for loved ones, a large portion of Valentine’s shopping is done at the last minute.
In each of the past two years, nearly half of U.S. spending on Valentine’s Day flowers, candy and cards occurred between Feb. 11 and Feb. 14, according to Numerator, a market research company. But sales do not peak until Valentine’s Day itself.
Walmart — which sells nearly 40 million red roses for the holiday — says around 75% of its Valentine’s Day sales occur on Feb. 13 and 14. Those two days account for 80% of Kroger’s sales during Valentine’s week.
“Although stores begin pushing their Valentine’s Day inventory weeks ahead of the day, before the holiday itself, most consumers save their shopping for the last minute,” said Amanda Schoenbauer, an analyst with Numerator.
For last-minute shopping, Americans still tend to spend a lot. This year, they’re expected to shell out a collective $25.8 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. Candy is the most popular gift; nearly 60% of Valentine’s shoppers planning to buy some. Greeting cards are second.
Some of that spending takes place well before the holiday. Target says consumers start snapping up Valentine’s home décor soon after Christmas ends. Valentine’s-themed potted plants were also popular this year, Target said, and many of those plants were bought early rather than closer to the holiday as is usually the case with cut flowers.
Yet procrastination seems to be part of the holiday tradition, according to data from Walgreens, which sold 44% of its Valentine’s candy and 56% of its…
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