Valentine’s Day gifts cost more as inflation hits romantic staples

A new analysis from The Century Foundation and Groundwork Collaborative found that Valentine’s Day staples rose 15.3% from a year earlier, more than five times the overall rate of inflation. That jump covers the whole romantic basket, from flowers and chocolates to lingerie, jewelry, wine and dinner out, and it means a fixed gift budget buys less of the same old gesture.

The squeeze was already visible in Reuters’ Feb. 11, 2025 Valentine’s coverage, which framed the holiday as more expensive across categories. A Reuters-linked summary said flowers and jewelry were up about 26% over the last five years, while chocolate climbed more than 75 percent, the kind of increase that turns a standard bouquet, box and dinner into a noticeably pricier night. Tariff pressure added to the cost story in 2025 for some imported Valentine’s staples, including flowers and chocolate.

Flowers are where many shoppers feel it first. The Progressive Policy Institute said the United States imports about 11 million roses a day in January, with Colombia, Ecuador and Guatemala among the top rose sources in January 2023. Roses still dominated the market, and an industry recap said 93% of florists reported Valentine’s Day 2025 either exceeded or met expectations, with roses remaining the top floral choice. That is good news for florists, but it also helps explain why the classic red-rose purchase has become the first place people trim back, choosing fewer stems or a smaller arrangement instead of the full dozen.

Chocolate, another budget staple, turned even less forgiving. ABC News reported on Feb. 13, 2026 that chocolate prices were up 14.4% in the first weeks of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, nearly doubling the pace seen at the start of 2025. Cocoa shortages were driving those higher input costs, which means the familiar heart-shaped box is carrying more of the inflation burden than it did last year.

Even so, shoppers kept spending. Consumer summaries put 2025 Valentine’s spending at $27.5 billion, with the average American budgeting $188.81 for the holiday. The National Retail Federation said spending was expected to reach a record high, a reminder that romance still gets funded, just with more trade-offs at the register and fewer easy bargains in the classic basket.