Valentine’s Day has become a huge industry. Everyone is aware of it at least to some extent. I started research to get proper statistics on it. In the United States Valentine’s Day means a big day for the country’s economy and a number of industries. Spending money on jewelry, restaurants, cards, and flowers puts dollar signs in the eyes of business owners as they cash in on one of the most consumer-driven holidays of the year. Valentine’s Day is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States. According to a report an estimated $30.3 billion will be spent this Valentine’s Day of 2018, with participants spending an average of $200.50 in total per person in United States of America. According to CNBC in 2017 Altogether, more than half of all consumers planed to celebrate by buying something, spending an average of $143.56 on flowers, jewelry, candy, clothes and other gifts, up from $136.57 last year, according to the National Retail Federation’s Valentine’s Day consumer spending survey. Total spending was expected to reach $19.6 billion, near 2016’s all-time high.the National Retail Federation says, U.S. consumers marked Valentine’s Day by spending an estimated $4.3 billion on jewelry, $3.8 billion on an evening out, $2 billion on flowers, $1.9 billion on clothing, $1.7 billion on candy, $1.4 billion on gift cards and gift certificates and $1 billion on cards in 2017.
Total Valentine’s Day sales in the United States from 2009 to 2017
595 million British pound spent on Valentine’s Day in the UK in 2014, British pound 622 million in 2015.People in the United Kingdom (UK) spent an average of 49.64 British pounds on Valentine’s Day in 2017, more than half the amount of those in Spain where the expected spend per person was 111.08 million pounds.
Approximately 380 million British pounds are expected to be spent on dining out on Valentine’s Day in 2018, making this the largest category of expenditure. In addition, 250 million pounds are forecasted to be spent on flowers and 190 million pounds on clothing. About 35 percent of couples are planning a night out on Valentine’s Day, spending $3.7 billion, according to a separate report by Wallet Hub.
According to a survey In the UK, the most popular gift remained flowers representing 58% of the Valentine’s Day purchases for a total value of £262 million. Red roses remain the most popular flower; 21 million roses are sold in the UK in 2014.
Valentine’s Day in India is no less commercial than it is anywhere else in the world. In India for instance, Titan with a large share in the jewellery and watches business tends to see better volumes during the January-March quarter. Tata group firm Titan reported a 13 per cent jump in December quarter standalone net profit at Rs 255.75 crore. The company had posted a standalone net profit of Rs 226.15 crore for the same quarter of financial year 2016. Archies BSE 0.37 % reports good top lines on a surge in demand for gifts and greeting cards. Nestle BSE -0.46 % makes a lot of money from its chocolate portfolio, while JubilantFood Works BSE -0.09 % sells more pizzas and burgers. Even Talkwalkar Better Value Fitness BSE -3.36 %, which runs a chain of physical fitness centres, shows better business during the quarter. In 2015 Online retailers and shoppers earned approximatelyRs 22,000 crore from Valentine’s Day shopping, according to Assocham. The spending on Valentine’s Week reported 40 per cent higher, which was about Rs 16,000 crore in 2014. Valentine’s Day is turning out to be a heavy buying festival with a significant jump over the past four to five years,’ DS Rawat, Secretary General, Assocham, said, Around 52% of online shoppers surveyed say that they prefer to shop online because online retailers offered better deals. Half the smartphone owners in the group and nearly 18% of the tablet owners use those devices to make purchases, adds the survey. The survey has revealed that big salary youths especially from the MNCs, BPOs, IT and big corporates are planning to spend massively on V-gifts ranges from Rs 1,000 to Rs 50,000 compared to students who are spending no less from Rs 500 to Rs 10,000 this year on valentine day. As per the findings, the rural spending during the V-day is increased by over 22%% than the urban spending (20%) this year.Other reasons for e-shoppers number multiplying are because of factors such as home delivery which saves time, secondly ’24×7′ hours shopping with ease and availability factors for product comparisons.
| Gifts Often Given on Valentine’s Day (Allowing for multiple gifts given) | Data |
| Candy | 47.5 % |
| Flowers | 34.3 % |
| Cards | 52.1 % |
| Jewelry | 17.3 % |
| Dining / Eating Out | 34.6 % |
| Clothing | 14.4 % |
| Gift Cards | 12.6 % |
| Other Gifts | 11.2 % |
Content Author: Statistic Brain, Date research was conducted: September 24, 2017, Valentine’s Day Statistics.
The corruption that ensues from this celebration of immorality affects all levels of society. Valentine’s Day is a big business in the western society. Television and newspapers publicise Valentine’s Day through their promotion of special programmes, articles and events. Department stores, gift shops, the Post Office and clothes shops stand fully decorated with red roses and heart shaped balloons, enticing customers to purchase. In the month of February countless number of schools, universities and clubs are in preparation for balls and parties with free mixing, alcohol, drugs, and illicit sexual encounters. At schools, girls and boys compete with each other to see who received the most Valentines cards and boast about the number of secret admirers they have. Others will be hiding their faces with humiliation in the realisation that nobody wants to show an ounce of romantic interest in them. College bars subsidise exotic cocktails, and drug-pushers stock up.
Islam is very clear about such events. Islam teaches chastity, and modesty. Immodesty, indecency and nudity destroy the whole society. The progress and development of a society is only through virtuousness, modesty and chastity. For this reason the holy Qur’ān instructs everybody not to approach any kind of immodesty, be it spoken or otherwise. It orders to avoid indecent songs and pornographic literature. It is extremely necessary for each one of us to avoid character-destroying literature, visual nudity, indecent actions and immodest talk and thoughts in our public and personal lives. One must seek refuge in Allah from such evil path. Pray and try to protect Ummah(community) with it.
Not only Islam, but also any educated, cultured person will not accept the flood of immodesty and indecency that is flung in our societies on the occasion of Valentine’s Day.
Indeed, festivals are one of the most unique features that distinguish various religions and their most prominent symbols. So joining in with Valentine’s Day is joining in with the most characteristic and prominent symbols of kufr (disobedience), per Islam. And also it is very evident from the Qur’ān and Hadīth that believers must lead a simple life. Islam discourages consumerism, fooling people and earning through Haram (forbidden) means.
There are youths who understand the game of capitalists and trying to promote virtue in the society, with different events, explaining to students and the youth the vice of Valentine’s Day, Girls Islamic Organisation and Students Islamic Organisation are among few students’ organisations that are creating awareness among students in a peaceful manner with their limited resources.
There are also some other organisations that have become the moral police. With their acts they are just promoting stubbornness in the society. Anger and hatred cannot kill problems. But create new problems. May Almighty lead us onto the Straight Path.
References:
http://techstory.in/valentines-day-shopping/http://www.news18.com/news/india/valentines-day-a-business-worth-rs-12k-crore-360418.html
https://arisebharat.com/2014/02/13/the-business-of-valentines-day-in-india/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/285034/us-valentine-s-day-sales-by-category/
https://www.finder.com/valentines-day-statistics
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/06/on-valentines-day-being-in-love-will-cost-you.html
https://www.statisticbrain.com/valentines-day-statistics/
http://fortune.com/2017/02/07/valentines-day-2017-spending/
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/288417
https://www.fundivo.com/stats/valentines-day-spending-statistics/
