Cavan is Ireland’s Most Romantic County As Valentine’s Day Shopping Soars

Bank of Ireland’s Valentine’s Day Spending Pulse analyses debit & credit card spend

Cavan shoppers spent 126% more this year on Valentine’s Day items

Men spent more on flowers & jewellery; even split on chocolate & perfume

 Cavan appears to be Ireland’s most romantic county, with consumers there spending 126% more on romantic items this Valentine’s Day compared to last year, according to Bank of Ireland’s Spending Pulse. Lovebirds across Ireland purchased romantic gifts, with spending hikes on Spa breaks (+62%), Grooming & Beauty (+58%), Jewellery (+47%), Chocolates (+46%), Perfume (+13%), and Flowers (+3%).

While Cavan led the way in Valentine’s Day spending, outlay from residents in Offaly (+49%), Wicklow (+38%), Roscommon (+29%) and Sligo (+29%) on a selection of romantic items all rose on a yearly basis. Things were a little more downbeat on the spending front elsewhere in Ireland, with Waterford residents posting a -35% decline in Valentine’s spending, and consumers in counties such as Leitrim (-28%), Kildare (-19%), Kerry (-18%) and Kilkenny (-12%) bringing up the rear in the race to Ireland’s centre of romance.

In the battle of the sexes to see who can spoil their partners more the spending data painted a mixed picture. Perhaps not surprisingly, men splashed out significantly more (82%) on flowers than women (18%), with outlay on boxes of chocolates evenly split at 50/50. When it came to jewellery men also spent more (66%) on February 14th, than their female counterparts (34%), whilst spending on perfume also revealed a near even split – with men accounting for 52% of the spend in this area.

Commenting on Bank of Ireland’s Valentine’s Day Spending Pulse, Jilly Clarkin, Head of Customer Journeys & SME Markets at Bank of Ireland said: “Forget Paris or Rome, Cavan was the place to be for Valentine’s Day this year. Those claiming that romance is dead need only look at Cavan to know that people were happy to splash out on Valentine’s Day. Whether it was a nice bouquet of flowers, a hotel break, or perfume, consumers proved once more that they’re romantics at heart and they’ll go the extra-mile on February 14^th.

“Analysis from our digital team also revealed a 3% weekly spike in logins to our digital channels (mobile app, 365online) the day after Valentine’s Day, so people are still keeping a close eye on their financial wellbeing no matter how Cupid continues to fire his arrow!”

BoI debit and credit card transactions: 14 Feb 2023 vs. 14 Feb 2022