‘Love Index' shows South Africans still romantic at heartThe annual ‘Mastercard Love Index', created by analysing credit, debit and prepaid card transactions over a three-year period, reveals South African shoppers feel loved and are spending more on Valentine's Day than before, with spending up 41% since 2014. ©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 trendsAsia Pacific Canada Europe Latin America US Middle East and Africa |