‘Love Index' shows South Africans still romantic at heart

©Svetlana Kolpakova via 123RF

Data showed the majority of Valentine’s purchases globally happen during a last-minute dash on 13 February, with 47.4 million transactions that day alone over the past three years. Recent years have shown that the stomach is increasingly the way to one’s heart, with spending in restaurants soaring by 71% in South Africa since 2014.

“Whilst the way we say I love you might have changed in recent years, showing someone you care on 14 February is more popular than ever. The Mastercard Love Index highlights key global and regional trends to hopefully offer retailers some priceless insight into how customers want to spend the most romantic day of the year,” says Mark Elliott, division president for Mastercard, South Africa.

The study, which looked at shopper behaviour in more than 20 territories around the globe, identified some other purchasing trends.

The personal touch still matters: Despite the continued growth of online, 95% of transactions around Valentine’s Day are still made in person. Those in Latin America showed the biggest shift to online, with an increase of 250% from 2014 to 2016, followed by Asia Pacific with an increase of 81% and the Middle East and Africa with a 71% increase.

Regional trends

Asia Pacific
• Spend most of their money on hotels/motels during the Valentine’s period – 37%, an increase of 33% since 2014
• Do 85% of their Valentine’s Day purchases in person, however, online sales have increased by 81% in the last three years

Canada
• Choose to spend the most on restaurants and eating out during Valentine’s Day period – 34%
• 59% of their spending happens in person (the lowest amount across all regions

Europe
• Most of their Valentine’s Day spending goes on hotels/motels – 35%, an increase of 50% in three years
• Europeans lead the way in terms of spending online compared to other regions, 19% of their Valentine’s Day spending is done on e-commerce sites
• Biggest area of growth in Europe was in restaurants, up by 67% during the Valentine’s Day period in three years

Latin America
• Biggest growth in terms of online spending, up by 250% in three years
• Bucked the trend in terms of flowers, seeing massive growth of 271% between 2014-2016
• Also saw the biggest growth in terms of splashing out on jewellery – up by 66%

US
• Love spending their money on food, 44% goes to restaurants and has seen the biggest growth across all regions since 2014 – up by 130%
• 90% of their purchasing still takes place in person
• Spending on hotels/motels was also up by 57% over the three-year period on Valentine’s Day

Middle East and Africa
• Spend most of their Valentine’s Day budget on hotels/motels (43%) followed by jewellery (22%)
• Conduct three quarters (75%) of their purchases in person
• Also bucked the trend in terms of flower sales, up by 30% over the three year period