Monday, February 14, 2011

Good news for romantics (and retailers)

You can’t buy love, but according to a study from the National Retail Foundation, people have trying harder to disprove that notion this year. Valentine’s Day spending in 2011 is the highest it’s been since before the economy crapped out.

The average person will shell out $116 on red roses, heart shaped cookies, and I Love You thongs. A hundred and sixteen bucks! I guess someone must be buying a few of these to bring that average up.

What’s the explanation? I have no research on this, but I have a firm belief:

Valentine’s Day is a purely emotional holiday. Nothing rational about it; it’s all about human connection. You could argue there’s a rational reason to give a gift on V-Day, that if you play your cards right, your reward might greatly justify the gift. Probably explains all of the I Love You thongs.

This wonderful research proves that when it comes to selling, heartstrings trump purse strings.

And as an aside, I love the fact that folks are spending more on love. It’s a sure sign that we’re on our way back to financial confidence. POTUS should use this in one of his upcoming speeches. What’s a better economic indicator?

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