Press release -
MONDAY, 8 FEBRUARY, DUBBED “RO-MANIC MONDAY” AS NATION GOES ONLINE FOR VALENTINE’S GIFTS
The research, based on data from Google Trends, shows that for five of the last six years, UK search traffic for “Valentine’s gifts” has peaked on the Monday before Valentine’s Day. The only exception was in 2012, when it peaked on the Tuesday before.
This suggests that Britons start thinking about gifts for loved ones earlier than their American counterparts, with US search traffic for “Valentine’s gifts” not peaking till at least February 13
The Post Office is releasing the results of new research to remind people to get their cards and gifts in the post this week. With Valentine’s Day falling on a Sunday anyone leaving it to the last minute and posting special gifts on the 12th should use Royal Mail Special Delivery Saturday Guaranteed to make sure their gift arrives in good time.
And a survey of 1,430 people across Briton who are in a relationship, carried out by YouGov on behalf of the Post Office, suggests that of those planning to give a Valentine’s gift men are more likely than women to leave it late to buy their gift, with 22 per cent of them waiting until within a few days before the day before starting to look for a gift (compared to 15 per cent of women). Five cent of men wait until the day before or on the day itself. But while men might leave it late, they are more likely to buy a gift, with 50 per cent of men in a relationship saying they plan to give one, compared to 37 per cent of women.
The survey suggests that younger people are more likely to give a Valentine’s gift; 59 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds said they planned to buy their partner a gift, compared to just 31 per cent of those aged over 55. It also showed that 63% of those in a relationship but not living with their partner were planning to give a gift, compared to just 40 per cent of people who were married.
When it comes to spend men who are planning to give a Valentine’s gift are more likely to splash the cash spending an average of £55 on gifts, this compares to Women who are set to spend just £25. In terms of regions, people in the South seem to be most generous, spending an average of £62 on gifts, while people in the North are lease likely to dig deep ingot their pockets spending only £30 on average. While one in ten people (11 per cent) in the East of England say they plan to spend no more than £5.
Mark Siviter, Head of Mails at Post Office, said: “It’s clear that Valentine’s Day will bring out the romantic side of millions of people across the UK. Today is set to be Ro-manic Monday, as six days before the big day we expect huge numbers of people start to looking for a gift for their loved one.
“Millions of people will be taking time to seek out the perfect present and we will be working hard to help them ensure that gifts get to loved ones on time. With thousands of our branches open for longer, many from early in the morning until late in the evening, we want to make it as easy as possible for people to send gifts and cards to loved ones this Valentine’s Day.”
Over a third (37 per cent) of Brits online say they are likely to visit a small business in-store to find a unique Valentine’s gift in the future. With one in three (31 per cent) likely to seek out unique gifts from small businesses online thousands of these businesses will be relying on the Post Office to fulfil their Valentine’s orders.
One business who’s gearing up for a busy week is Berkshire-based Popadoodledoo (www.popadoodledoo.co.uk), which makes cake pops with a creative twist. Kelly O’Donnell set up her company last year and is keeping her local Post Office in Thatcham busy with lots of Special Deliveries before the big day.
Kelly said: “Our cake pops are proving particularly popular with people from across the UK looking for something unique to give this Valentine’s Day. Online orders are coming in from as far away as Orkney. So far the majority of orders have been placed by women who like to plan ahead, though as we reach the end of the week I’ll be expecting to see more men placing last minute orders for loved ones.”
Notes to Editors
Images are available on request of Kelly O’Donnell and her Cake Pops on request.
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2080 adults. Of which 1430 were in a relationship. Fieldwork was undertaken between 28th - 29th January 2016. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
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