There is no doubt that companies worldwide make huge profits over the Valentine’s period, when as a society we somehow decided it is acceptable to charge £10 for a box of chocolates that would be £3 any other day of the year.
In 2021, an estimated £926m was made by UK businesses for Valentine’s Day.
In 2019, Brits spent £267m on romantic weekend getaways and in 2020, card retailers in the UK made £47m on Valentine’s Day cards alone.
Commercially, Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest days of a company’s year.
But should there only be one day a year to love and appreciate your partner?
There is something nice about your partner buying you some flowers or your favourite chocolate bar or offering to take you out for a meal on a random day of the year, rather than only doing it because they feel obligated to.
Realistically, you can get the same bunch of roses from your local supermarket for half the price you would be paying at an independent florist.
Why can companies charge a considerable amount more for flowers that are labelled as Valentine’s Day flowers, when they are the same flowers that grow out of the ground all year round?
As someone who is not materialistic, I find Valentine’s Day to be more of a social construct which is pressured on you when you get into a relationship.
Not to mention, with the increased use of social media, people like to post what their partner has bought them for Valentine’s Day, making it feel like a bit of a competition of ‘whose partner spoils them the most.’
Love does not have to be expensive. Gifts which are personal and thoughtful will mean a lot more to the right person than something that is super expensive but pretty impersonal.
You do not need a specific day to spoil your partner! Love should be celebrated all year round!
Featured Image Credit: RODNAE Productions on Pexels
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