Survey and Retail Data Reveal This Year’s Most Popular Valentine’s Gift

More than half of consumers planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day in 2026, and the single most common choice remains simple: candy and greeting cards top the list of gifts people give. The National Retail Federation’s spending projections show a divergence between frequency and dollars - Americans plan to spend more than $5.5 billion on jewelry and nearly $4.4 billion on a special evening out, while everyday tokens continue to circulate widely.

That split shows up in who pays and how. Men’s average spend on Valentine’s gifts registers at $249, compared with around $57 for women, and purchase channels are shifting: 40 percent of gifts will be bought online, while 33 percent of shoppers will visit department stores and 31 percent will shop at discount stores. At the margin, only 8 percent of Valentine’s gifts will be clothing or perfume, underscoring why candy and cards remain dominant in sheer numbers even as jewelry and dinners capture the largest slices of total spending.

The audience for Valentine’s spending has broadened. In 2024, 29 percent of Valentine’s Day spending was not for a significant other, covering friends, coworkers, classmates and pets. Pet gifting has measurable scale: in 2020 about 27.6 million American households gave Valentine’s presents to their dogs and more than 17.1 million households bought gifts for their cats, and households are estimated to have spent roughly $751.3 million on pet gifts for the holiday. Floral supply also underpins the seasonal ritual - around 224 million roses are grown specifically for Valentine’s Day, and more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates are sold each year, totaling about 58 million pounds of chocolate.

For thoughtful, on-the-ground ideas, retail lists show how to translate national trends into gifts that feel intentional. Papersource’s curated “10 Best Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas for 2026” runs the gamut from a Love Spell Magic Candle and Heart Valentine’s Day Thinking Putty to a Glass Checkered Heart Mug and Pink Fuzzy Heart Keychain - small, affordable items meant to be paired with a greeting card. For a traditional keepsake, an engraved heart-shaped locket from Catbird is priced at $258 and up; one reviewer wrote, “I love my little heart locket charm. It’s small, but you can totally add a little something inside.” For someone who wants to go big at home, BuzzFeed highlights the Terra Kaffe Demi Compact Fully Automatic Espresso Machine as a splurge that can make barista-quality drip and espresso from whole beans and pre-ground coffee.

The takeaway for givers: popularity does not equal price. Candy and cards remain the most commonly exchanged tokens, even as jewelry and dinners drive headline spending numbers. Match the gift to the recipient - a playful Papersource pick for a friend, a Catbird locket for someone who values a keepsake, or an espresso machine for a partner who drinks café coffee daily - and the result will feel deliberate, not transactional.