Valentine’s spending hits record, shoppers seek meaningful affordable luxury gifts

Valentine’s Day is still a spending machine, but the money is flowing into gifts that feel intimate, useful and a little more considered. The National Retail Federation projected record U.S. spending of $29.1 billion in 2026, with shoppers budgeting an average of $199.78 and 55% planning to celebrate. Candy remained the most popular gift, but the sharper story is how far the holiday has widened beyond a single romantic splurge: 83% of celebrants planned to buy for a significant other, while spending also reached family, friends, children’s classmates, teachers, co-workers and pets.

That shift is pushing affordable luxury to the front of the aisle. Hallmark is leaning into the mood with cards and gifts that are less about price than presentation, partnering with Katherine Schwarzenegger to frame Valentine’s as a celebration of all loved ones, not just couples. Its 2026 assortment includes pop-up cards, keepsake boxes, picture frames, date-night idea jars, serving trays and champagne flutes, the kind of items that feel elevated because they are meant to be saved, displayed or used again. Schwarzenegger said handwritten cards were a family tradition she is now teaching her children, a reminder that the most luxurious detail can be the most personal one.

The broader market data backs up that emotional turn. Savings.com found that 46% of respondents said rising costs are making Valentine’s Day harder to celebrate, 26% felt pressured to spend and 2 in 3 believed the holiday has become too commercialized. Even so, 48% preferred quality time at home and 43% favored experiences over physical gifts. RetailMeNot found 84% of consumers still planned to buy Valentine’s gifts in 2026, but average planned spending dropped to $105 from $165 in 2025, signaling a more selective shopper who is trading up on meaning while trimming excess.

That is where the smartest Valentine’s gifts now win: not through size, but through finish. A well-made card, a keepsake box, a frame for a shared photo or a date-night jar feels richer than a generic splurge because it carries a memory with it. Hallmark’s long history with licensed characters, dating back to its first Disney agreement in 1932, also shows how sentiment and pop culture have long worked together in the greeting-card business. This year’s holiday is not asking shoppers to spend less on love. It is asking them to spend more deliberately.