You may love it or loathe it, but one thing is certain – 14th February, also known as Valentine’s Day has a permanent place in the modern day calendar as a day to exchange sweet treats, flowers, cards and gifts with loved ones. It has also established itself as a key date on the Retailers Calendar and a much-needed post-Christmas sales boost for stores. For example, in the US, it is the fifth largest shopper-spending event after Christmas and Mother's Day.

In Europe, Valentine’s Day has increased in importance in both society and retail. The latest Attest research among UK consumers confirms that 54% of Brits are planning to do something special on the Valentine’s Day. Among those who plan to celebrate, 28% see shop-bought gifts (electronics, jewellery, etc.) as an appropriate Valentine’s gift for their loved ones.

Valentine's Day in other countries across Europe – e.g. in Spain the day is known as El Día de San Valentín, in Italy it is referred to as La Festa Degli Innamorati/La Festa di San Valentino or in France it is named as la fête de Saint-Valentin or, simply, la Saint-Valentin – is celebrated in a similar way.

Looking at Sensormatic Solutions Valentine’s Day traffic data trends in the past 3 years, we saw clear traffic spikes over the last two days leading up to 14th February as well as the weekend beforehand. This is true for both retail and shopping centre traffic and is consistent across top countries in Europe.

Download our Valentine’s Day Traffic Report for further insights into traffic performance across all retail!