M&S among winners as Brits spend nearly £1bn on Valentine’s Day

The romantic occasion drove £962m in food and gifting, including £100m on cut flowers, £137m on Fresh Ready meals, nearly £11m on champagne and £38m on sparkling wine.

Product categories seeing a big boost year on year included toiletries gift packs (up 27%) and fragrances (up 11%), driving £5.8m and £19m in spending respectively. This data covers the two weeks up to February 15. 

The big winner among retailers was Marks & Spencer, according to NIQ, with its ’dine-in for two for £25’ offer helping drive sales up 10.8% for Valentine’s Day, with almost one in four shoppers visiting M&S in the four weeks to February 22.

Across these four weeks, total till sales were up 4% year on year, with growth slowing compared to the 5.3% growth seen in January.

British consumers continued to show less interest in buying alcohol from retailers, with beer, wines and spirits sales down by 2% year on year

The price sensitivity of consumers was clear in the data, with discounters the fastest-growing channel (up 6%). Promotional spending contributed 24% of sales with retailers investing in price cuts and dine-in offers.

NIQ head of retailer and business insight Mike Watkins said: “Retailers capitalised on the opportunities around Valentine’s Day as shoppers wanted to create a special occasion at home. With the pinch of the cost of living, many shoppers dined in to save money this year, with premium food options growing and themed meals and gifts very much in vogue for treating loved ones.”