A 2025 Valentine’s Day shopping survey shows a decline in the percentage of Canadians willing to make purchases related to the day.
Despite the decline, 85.2 per cent of the 9,411 Canadian adults surveyed in January expect to match or increase previous spending on their Valentine’s Day purchases this year, according to a survey by the Retail Council of Canada.
Around 55.6 per cent of Canadians plan to spend more than $50 on Valentine’s Day with restaurants, food, alcohol and candy being the top spending categories this season, according to the survey, which has a one per cent margin of error.
Fardeen Ali, 20, a first-year student in the Honours Bachelor of Technology in the Construction Management program at George Brown Polytechnic, said when he was a child, “it was more about making your friend happy by giving them a card or a sweet treat. Nowadays, it's all about couples buying expensive gifts and posting them online as if there's some sort of competition.
“It results in the idea that if you're not participating, then you're not doing the right thing, and you're considered a loser,” Ali said.
Packaging and displays have so much power over Valentine’s Day, Ali says.
“The same box of chocolates or sweets is reused, with a heart glued or taped to it," he said. "It shows that you're paying for the packaging rather than the product at a marked-up price. It's a scam, if you ask me.”
Ali said the meaning of Valentine's Day is lost in today's society, saying it “encourages people to spend a lot of money to show their loved one that they truly care about them and their feelings. It really comes down to performance rather than the person's genuine feelings.”
Shoppers in Canada are most intrigued by the displays they see in stores, with around 40 per cent sharing this view, according to the survey.
Christina Pignolo, 22, a first-year Child and Youth Care student at Toronto Metropolitan University, said packaging with a limited time frame makes people want it more.
“It automatically feels more desirable," she said. "Seasonal packaging has a big influence on how people value and purchase products that tap into trends, urgency and the fear of missing out.”
Sustainability is not on the mind of Canadians while shopping, according to the survey, with 42 per cent don’t view eco-friendly and sustainable packaging as important to celebrating Valentine’s Day.
“Seasonal packaging adds perceived value and can drive people to spend more than they normally would or need to be spending,” Pignolo said.
She said love and care shouldn’t just be tied to one day.
“Valentine’s Day seems to be more about fantasizing romance," she said. "The emphasis is less on appreciation or connection and more on the concept of being in love at a certain time.”
