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Valentine's Day expected to increase retail sales by 8.5 percent

13/02/2012 - By Louis Georgakakis

Valentine's Day sales are expected to increase by 8.5 percent this year, reaching the highest retail sales for the holiday in 10 years.

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A study released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts that retail sales this Valentine's Day will rise 8.5 percent to reach an estimated $17.6 billion. The NRF expects that consumers will spend $126 each for the holiday, which is the largest amount since the NRF began taking the survey 10 years ago.

The spike in sales is in part attributed to the growth of the ecommerce market, Megan Donadio, a retail strategist at consulting firm Kurt Salmon, told USA Today. Online shopping makes it easier for customers to find promotional sales and daily deals, using services like Groupon and Living Social that accept credit cards over the internet, the source reports.

"As one of the biggest gift-giving holidays of the year, it's encouraging that consumers are still exhibiting the desire to spend on discretionary gift items, a strong indication our economy continues to move in the right direction," NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.

Retailers should be prepared to see more men at point-of-sale terminals, since men usually spend on average twice as much as women for the holiday.

Articles written by ChargeNational.com's editorial team. For more information, click here.

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