Irish spent more on Valentine’s Day flowers, report says

Irish romantics spent more on Valentine's Day flowers than their loved-up peers in countries across Europe, with the average bouquet bought in the Republic costing €55, compared with €47 in the UK and €33 in Germany, a survey published on Monday suggests.

The monthly consumer spending report from Visa Europe shows that a heady cocktail of romance, consumer confidence and an extra 24 hours in which to spend money led to consumer spending climbing by more than 11 per cent last month when compared with February 2015.

The company said that the Republic’s higher floral spend indicates that we are “one of the most romantic nationalities”, although a cynical heart might say that Irish people just have to pay more than their German cousins for the same flowers.

A number of sectors were said to have benefitted from Valentine’s Day, as people spent money on flowers, restaurants and hotel bookings.

The research shows spending up 11.3 per cent in February on last year, the steepest year-on-year increase since the company started recording Irish consumer spending habits 18 months ago.

Visa Europe said the year-on-year comparison “will have been flattered” by the additional trading day in February 2016 due to the Leap Year, but it said that rates of growth have definitely gathered momentum since the final quarter of 2015.

The company said increased disposable income and consumer confidence also helped boost spending during the month.

Consumer spending

The report said growth in consumer spending across all payment methods accelerated in February, with a record year-on-year increase registered for face-to-face expenditure.

The high street benefitted from an increased willingness among consumers to spend on discretionary items and saw a 9.2 per cent rise in expenditure compared with the same month last year.

Ecommerce also continued to see a sharp expansion, with online spending rising by 15.4 per cent when compared with last February.

However, the recreation and culture category registered the sharpest expansion last month, as consumers spent more money on sporting goods and cinema tickets.

Expenditure was up 21.1 per cent year-on-year in this sector.