Money is no object when it comes to splashing out on loved ones with Valentine’s Day spending up by 41% in SA, the annual MasterCard Love Index found.
It would appear shoppers in SA are feeling loved up, spending more on the most romantic day of the year than ever before, the study shows.
The annual MasterCard Love Index created by analysing credit, debit and prepaid card transactions over a three-year period, revealed that sentimental spending in SA has increased by 41% since 2014.
And while the majority of present purchases still happen in person, love has gone digital with a 57%increase in the number of e-commerce transactions in the country from Valentine’s Day 2014 to 2016.
Data showed the majority of Valentine’s purchases globally happen during a last-minute dash on February 13 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 SA since 2014.
MasterCard SA division president Mark Elliott said: “While the way we say I love you might have changed in recent years showing someone you care on February 14 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.”
The study, which looked at shopper behaviour in more than 20 areas around the globe, identified some other purchasing trends finding that despite the continued growth of online, 95% of transactions around Valentine’s Day are still made in person, showing that the personal touch still matters.
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.
In the Asia Pacific region, 37% of purchases were spent on hotels/motels during the Valentine’s period. In Canada, 34% choose to spend the most on restaurants and eating out during Valentine’s Day period.
In Europe, most Valentine’s Day spending goes toward hotels/motels, at 35%, an increase of 50% in three years.
Restaurants also prove to be popular with spend increasing by 67% during the Valentine’s Day period in three years.
Latin America has bucked the trend in terms of flowers, seeing massive growth of 271% between 2014-2016.
The region also saw the biggest growth in splashing out on jewellery - up by 66%. Americans love spending their money on food, with 44% of spending going to restaurants. Those in the Middle East and Africa have been found to spend most of their Valentine’s Day budget on hotels/motels (43%) followed by jewellery (22%).
These regions have also bucked the trend in terms of flower sales, up by 30%over a three-year period.