Love brings out the spending spirit on Valentine's Day
File photo of money. (Courtesy of Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from dborman2's photostream)
Posted: 02/14/2011
WASHINGTON (AP) - After pinching pennies hard for a couple of years, consumers are once again ready to shower their loved ones with gifts. In fact, according to IBIS world research, Americans will spend $18.6 billion this year on Valentine's day purchases. That's nearly 6 percent more than last year and breaks down to about 125 bucks a person.
Americans will spend most of their dough on romantic getaways, candy and the most popular expense of all, dining out. All those meals will cost us $8.8 billion this year.
The National Retail Federation says the average man will drop more than $158 for Valentine's Day, while the average woman will only spend about $75 dollars.
Valentine's day is not just for humans. The National Retail Federation says the average person will spend just over $5 on the family pet, up nearly $2 from last year.
Copyright Associated Press
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