How Different Ages Celebrate Valentine’s Day

By: Gabriella Washington

Questions

1)

How does Valentine's Day participation vary based on age?

2)

How does spending on Valentine's gifts change across age groups?

3)

What is the most popular way different age groups celebrate Valentine’s Day?

Where is the data from?

National Retail Federation’s Valentine’s Day Data Survey

The National Retail Federation annually surveys consumers about how they plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Kaggle

Survey data from 7,728 U.S. adult consumers from 2010 to 2022 was compiled into a dataset by a Kaggle user.

GitHub

The data was further cleaned and condensed by a GitHub user and submitted as part of Tidy Tuesday.

The Results

How does Valentine’s Day Participation Vary by Age?

• Valentine’s Day participation decreased as age increased
• The 18-24 age group has the highest participation of 51%
• The 65+ age group has the lowest participation of 13%

How are Different Age Groups Spending on Candy?

• 70% of the 18-24 age group gifts candy
• This is the most popular gift type for all age groups

How are Different Age Groups Spending on Flowers?

• There are less people gifting flowers than candy
• Spending on flowers as a Valentine’s gift decreases among older groups

How are Different Age Groups Spending on Jewelry?

• This was the least popular gift type across age groups
• Slightly more popular among older young adults

How are Different Age Groups Spending on an Evening Out?

• Overall more popular than gifting jewelry
• Less popular than flowers and candy

How are Different Age Groups Spending on Greeting Cards?

• Spending on Valentine’s Day cards becomes more popular as age increases
• The 65+ age group has the most greeting card gifting, with 44% of them gifting cards
• This is the second most popular gift type

How are Different Age Groups Spending?

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(18-24, 25-34, and 35-44)

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Percentage

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How are Different Age Groups Spending?

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(45-54, 55-64, 65+)

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Summary

• The 18-24 age group tends to have more Valentine’s Day participation and gift-giving
• Participation and gift-giving tended to decrease as age increased
• Older age groups tended to gift more “low-effort” gifts like cards
• Total Valentine’s Day recognition may not be accurately represented because other ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day like hugs, texts, and toys like teddy bears are not assessed

Thank you for listening!