This is how we will celebrate International Valentine's Day this year

Valentine's Day is an excellent opportunity to take a break from all the daily stress, chores at home, work, children and the news and spend quality time with your partner, or for the singles among you, quality time alone and self-care. It is known that every person has a complex relationship when it comes to the combination of money and love. As you know, this combination also affects relationships, love and friendships. It is known that money evokes a wide range of emotions and the question is what is the place of money in the context of love.

Together with Hila Kanister Bar David, CEO of the "Schelch" consumer club, we examined how much money Israelis spend on this day and how the war affects the mix of purchases, through a survey we conducted among consumers of the "Schelch" consumer club, with over 150,000 fathers and mothers in Israel , several facts emerge.

The basic fact is that almost 50% of Israelis choose to completely ignore the international holiday for lovers, but about 75% of Israelis do mark the date on the Hebrew calendar that was declared as Valentine's Day - Tu Bab. In addition, almost half of Israelis do not plan to spend money on Valentine's Day at all, 16 % plan to spend up to NIS 100, 22.6% of the population will spend NIS 100-300 and 12.9% of them will spend over NIS 300.

Already three days before Valentine's Day, the credit companies recognize a clear increase of over 50% in online purchases and during the holiday itself, an increase of 142 We also found that women invest in a romantic gift an amount 8% higher than what men invest, with an average gift value of 446 shekels (compared to the average of 412 shekels spent by the Israeli man), on the other hand, 78% of the buyers are men and only 22% of the buyers Valentine's gifts are women.

The war in Israel greatly affects the shopping mix. Most of the hotels in Israel are still or partially occupied by evacuees and the celebrations have become more personal and private, at home, with small gestures such as a meal we will prepare or ordering a delivery. The most common gifts for Valentine's Day in order from the most common to the least common are: chocolate and flowers, jewelry, wine, a restaurant and a couple's vacation.

The most notable change compared to 2023: restaurants, which in 2023 were in first place, actually drop to fourth place, when the leading entertainment today is spending time at home in an intimate atmosphere or a couple's experience outside the home (a movie, a trip or a romantic picnic), then a meeting of couples for dinner (with an average of 3-4 couples per session), and only after that restaurants and vacations abroad.

Salesforce, the global CRM leader, also conducted a survey among about 1000 consumers around the world and checked what they are planning for the upcoming Valentine's Day. According to Salesforce's data, 55% percent of the respondents plan to spend the holiday with a romantic meal at a restaurant, with the second preferred plan being a quiet time at home (29%). 14% of the respondents indicated that they would celebrate the holiday with family and 11% indicated that they would spend the holiday with friends.

11% of the respondents stated that they will spend the holiday on vacation or a trip, and in addition, 10% of the respondents said that they plan to spend this day in a self-celebration, and another 12% said that they plan an activity for self-indulgence (Self-care service).

Also, the data shows that 74% of the respondents claimed that they plan to buy a gift this year, with the most popular gift among consumers being flowers (42%). Immediately followed by the preferred gift is going out for fun (40%) and in third place, of course, chocolates (34%).

After them, you can also find those who spoil their loved ones with jewelry (28%), greeting cards (27%), clothing (24%) and a gift card (21%), which is always a good idea for those who have difficulty choosing. So no matter how you celebrate, with a partner, friends or even alone, don't forget to love yourself first! Happy Valentine's Day