The market value of Valentine's Day

I will admit that I am sometimes plagued by my own illiteracy when it comes to reading articles about the economy. My favorite economic discussions tend to stem from topics that I might think about outside the realm of a business class. So here’s a topic that might be interesting to my fellow non-economists, especially this week: the market value of Valentine’s Day.

Let’s start at the very beginning. I’m a history buff and like background info. Here’s a post from the History Channel’s website if you’re interested in the origins of the greeting card holiday. It’s a quick read and pretty interesting.

http://www.history.com/content/valentine/history-of-valentine-s-day

The article touches on the economic significance of the holiday: “According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent every year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year.”

This doesn’t include, of course, the zillions people spend on gifts, candy, jewelry, and dates. The following article from the National Retail Federation forecasts trends in consumer spending this Valentine’s Day and links them with the current economic climate:

http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=887

Rather than not spend at all, the trend seems to be spreading the wealth among the people closest to you. Rather than cut back on the number of people give valentines to, the NRF insinuates consumers will spend a bit less on their significant other and put that money toward gifts for family and close friends. So this week, whether you view the approach of Valentine’s Day with excitement or a sense of impending doom, consider some of the cultural economic semantics that contribute to the popularity of the lovers’ holiday.

From,
Your Valentine

~ Elizabeth Micci