Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and consumers are ready to spend more than ever in 2023. Consumer spending on Valentine’s Day is set to increase to $25.9 billion, $2 billion more than 2022.
Most consumers intend to spend on candy and greeting cards, but flowers are also a major Valentine’s Day tradition—and a boon for garden centers in the weeks between the holiday season and the beginning of spring.
Older Millennials (ages 35 to 44) are poised to spend more than other demographics on the holiday. And though gender norms and roles are changing, especially for younger generations, men are still most likely to spend money on Valentine’s Day celebrations. This means the holiday is a great opportunity to get both Millennials and men into the garden center.
But don’t leave out platonic relationships on this traditionally romantic holiday, either. “Galentine’s Day,” celebrated on February 13, has become a cultural phenomenon, particularly among Millennials, thanks to that perennial Millennial favorite TV series Parks & Recreation. Six years after the “Galentine’s Day” episode originally aired, the titular holiday, a day for women to celebrate their female friends, remains culturally relevant.
Whether the relationship being celebrated is romantic or platonic, a potted flower speaks to the care that goes into making a relationship last a lot better than a bouquet from the grocery store that will begin to wither in a day or two. So let consumers know that the garden center is the place to go for Valentine’s Day.
