According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) it will be a record year for Valentine’s Day spending which is expected to total $27.4 billion. This past year, as consumers scrambled to find the perfect gift or find a table at their favorite restaurant, what locations saw the largest influx of customers on the day of and as the big day approached?
We took a glance at some of the shopper trends and unique consumer visits to various locations on the day of, and leading up, to Valentine’s Day 2019, and decided to share a small taste of what we found.
Couples can’t resist Red Lobster on Valentine’s Day as the restaurant saw an increase of 86% above average foot traffic. (Up from 76% in 2018!)
Dining out on Valentine’s Day continues to see the largest increase in popularity with fine dining restaurants seeing an increase of 49% above average foot traffic, compared to Casual Dining restaurants with an uptick of 22%.
Some shoppers looking to splurge more on their love visited jewelry stores the Saturday before Valentine’s Day. Jewelry stores saw a significant uptick with 69% above average foot traffic.
Nicole Genchur
Director of Marketing Research & Insights, GroundTruth
