In a recent survey conducted by Xperience Days of over 500 adult Americans, regarding gift-giving habits for Valentine’s Day, half of the respondents revealed they’re not as excited about the holiday as they once were.

According to the same study, however, the occasion still has its fans, especially among youngsters, who keep the fire going on February 14th. Do they feel pressured or not? More enthused or less? Couples have answered about their gift preferences, spending habits, likely reactions to bad gifts, and much more.

So how popular is Valentine’s Day still?

Well, the research shows that plenty of people are actually excited about the holiday. Close to 80% of those questioned don’t dread Feb. 14th and will find some reason to celebrate, whether with their partner, friends or family.

It turns out married couples are quite apathetic to the celebration, with 48% saying they don’t mind it, while another 42% are excited about it. When it comes to gender, 12% of men don’t like it, double compared to women. Could it be all the pressure they’re under to find the perfect gift?

…and who will actually celebrate it?

Compared to married couples, unmarried ones are more excited about the holiday. They consider it the perfect occasion to show their significant other how much they appreciate them (45% vs 29%). Furthermore, only 16% of them have no plans to celebrate it, compared to 24% of married couples.

Although their enthusiasm for the holiday dies down, their love for their partner doesn’t – 10% of married people will participate just because their spouses expect them to.

Interestingly enough, it’s women who are more reluctant. 1 in 4 don’t plan to acknowledge the love holiday this year, even though they’re generally more excited about it compared to their male counterparts (21% vs. 19%). But men are not that far behind either. 1 in 5 have no plans to celebrate this Valentine’s Day, with 15% of them saying they’ll only do it because their significant others want them to.

As they age, people tend to lose their excitement over Valentine’s Day. While millennials (18-29-year-olds) are eager to “peacock” and impress their significant others with gifts, only 1/4 of the surveyed people over 30 will celebrate this year’s V-day (and they’ll only do it because their partners expect them to).

Up until 60, 10% of people still care about what others think and celebrate Valentine’s Day because everyone does it. After 60, they’ll focus more on what they and their partners want, choosing to celebrate because their partner expects them to, or not at all.

What are people planning to spend on?

While chocolate’s still one of the most popular Valentine’s Day gifts, married people are more likely to make healthier choices. 35% of them opt for candy compared to 43% of dating couples.

In terms of gifts they plan to give their loved one, married couples will favor gift cards more than unmarried ones (17% vs 12%) – perhaps as a way of leaving the decision in the hands of their spouse!

Women are more versatile when it comes to presents. If men go the traditional route gifting flowers (50%), candy (40%) and an evening out (64%), women tend to think of more unique gifts. Their Valentine’s Day shopping list includes experience gifts (20% – 3 times more than men who don’t think of experience gifts as an option), gift cards (17.6%), a romantic V-day card (7%) or a cozy home-cooked meal (6%).

Beyond the classic evening out, chocolates and flowers, millennials stick to their creative nature. 26% of them prefer to shower their SOs with experience gifts, while 28.9% of older couples are more inclined toward simple gift cards and a romantic dinner at home.

And how much?

Men like to spoil their partners and will spend up to 3x more than women. Almost half of women (43%) will budget around $50 on this year’s Valentine’s Day gift, while ~40% of men will spend between $50 and $150.

Furthermore, for every 3 men who splurge $300-$500 on their partner’s gift, there’s only one woman willing to do the same.

The research showed that even though luxury gifts are not popular, your chances of getting one are much higher if you’re in a married relationship – married people will shell out between $500-$1000 and over $1000 for luxury presents, while unmarried couples usually stop around the $500 mark.

They may have the least money of all age groups surveyed, but millennials (18-29-year-olds) are committed to spending it on their partners. Their Valentine’s Day excitement (29.1% compared to 17.9% of people aged 30-44) makes up for the lower average budget (only up to $150).

Men will put more effort into their decision as well

The decision to buy a gift will be much faster for married couples. They’ll pick a gift in a matter of hours, compared to dating couples who’ll take from a couple of days to a week (or more!) to do the same.

Not only do they spend more, but men also put more effort into choosing their partner’s Valentine’s gift. 14.5% of them will invest a week or more, while 18.9% of women are more decisive and won’t stress about it, marking only a couple of days in their calendar for Valentine’s gift shopping.

But what are they looking for when choosing a gift?

Dating couples want to give each other unique gifts, while married ones will favor utility and showing their partner they really know what they like over wow-ing them. This might come across as a more predictable present, but it’s generally better received.

When picking Valentine’s Day gifts for their SO, both men and women hope to demonstrate how well they know what their partner likes and prove themselves great at anticipating their needs and wants.

However, men take it a step further, with 19% of them also hoping to wow the women in their lives. That’s compared to 13% of women, who’d rather buy something unique and practical.

Younger people are more practical. 24.3% of them will look for gifts that are useful, compared to 16.3% of people over 60, who see gifts as a chance to rekindle that spark and charm the socks off their spouse.

Whatever the recipe, people appear to be satisfied with it

Married couples are more honest with each other – 4% admit that their SO is rarely pleased with their gift, compared to only 1% of unmarried couples.

Out of all age groups, millennials see themselves as the best gift givers. 40% of them say that their partners are always satisfied with their gifts – and an astounding 45.7% confirm this.

Compared to the 18-29 age group, only 1 in 5 people over 60 said they manage to always get it right with their V-day gift.

Many will appreciate it more if they don’t receive anything

Almost 19% of married people say they don’t want to receive anything this year – but if they do, 20% say they’d prefer experience gifts. However, only 12.3% of them plan to gift an experience gift to their spouses.

The study also asked people what their perfect Valentine’s present would be:

While men are more excited about showing the ladies in their life how much they care about them, 28% of them don’t like to be on the receiving end. However, if they are to receive a gift, they’d give the classic Valentine’s Day chocolates and a simple evening out (39%) the thumbs up.

For women, the key to a perfect Valentine’s Day would be an evening out (48%), classic chocolate and flowers combo (each picked by 29% of the women surveyed) followed closely by an experience gift (24%). The research shows that 1 in 4 women would like to get an experience gift as a way to spend more quality time with their partner.

Experience gifts are also seen as a way to “break the rut” and create new memories for Valentine’s. Women hope to receive them and tend to favor them as presents for their partners as well – almost 4 times as many women plan to gift an experience gift compared to men.

However, it turns out the women who hope for an experience gift will probably not get one this Valentine’s Day – only 6.5% of men plan to choose one this year. Hopefully, disappointment won’t lead to too many “dog house” situations (or worse).

Your SO is probably more satisfied with your gifts than you think

Marriage helps you give better gifts it seems. The happily married tend to be satisfied with their gifts more often compared to people in domestic partnerships (35% vs. 24%).

Ladies and gents, whatever you are doing for Valentine’s Day, you are doing it right. It turns out men underestimate their gift-giving abilities. While only 31% of them believe their SOs are always satisfied with their gifts, in reality, 41.5% of women say they are. Results are similar the other way round – 43.5% of men are always satisfied with their Valentine’s Day gifts, but only 35% of women believe so.

The novelty and excitement of the relationship probably make one see past the actual Valentine’s Day gift. Almost half of the younger respondents said they are always satisfied with their gifts, compared to 32.6% of people over 60, who are rather “very often” satisfied.

Even if they’re not, you may never know it

Love is love, and no matter if they’re married or not, people mind their partners’ feelings.

50% of them will either move on or pretend they like their gifts – focusing on the gesture and the occasion, rather than what they received.

However, a bad gift can sometimes create problems in paradise – 5% of married people would give their SO the silent treatment, while 7% would even consider breaking up over a bad Valentine’s Day gift. Slight chances, but not to be overlooked.

Couples are more likely to get upset over a bad Valentine’s Day gift the older they get. 10% of people over 60 give the silent treatment, compared to 2.8% in 18-29-year-olds. Then again, 58% of them will pretend to like it in order not to hurt feelings, and 25.6% will ignore it

Women may not want to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year as much as men do, but they sure care about their gifts. While half of them will pretend to like a bad gift and 32% wouldn’t care if they received something that doesn’t match their expectations, 7% would go so far as to break up over them. On the other hand, even though men have lower interest in receiving gifts, they can get upset too over a bad one – 5.8% of them will give you the silent treatment, ladies.

Still, SOs give the best Valentine’s Day gifts

Partners really try and their efforts are not in vain – both men and women mentioned that their SO has given them their best V-day gift. 83% of men mentioned their SO, while 75% of women did the same.

However, 12% of women also tend to appreciate the gifts they receive from parents, while in-laws are at the opposite end.

… and friends and co-workers the worst

Besides their partner, married couples reported their worst Valentine’s Day gifts coming from friends and work colleagues.

Work colleagues’ gifts are not usually appreciated… at all, with around 15% of men and women saying they received their worst present from work.

Besides work colleagues, women also tend to get bad gifts from inlaws in 10% of cases, while 19% of men mention friends as the most clueless when it comes to Valentine’s.

Wrapping up

In response to this survey, Xperience Days has launched 700+ unique experiences for its 2019 Valentine’s Day offering.

For those who haven’t bought anything for their partner or want to avoid a bad reaction to their present, Xperience Days has curated a huge collection of meaningful Valentine’s Day experiences that fit any budget, across the whole of the US, including luxurious dinners, adrenaline filled experiences, new ways to explore cities and opportunities to learn new things together.

No matter what you think about Valentine’s Day, there’s surely more than one way to celebrate love this year!