By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief
While dining out remains a popular choice for Americans to celebrate Valentine’s Day, new National Restaurant Association research shows that nearly one-third would also like to receive a restaurant gift card on February 14. However, men show a much stronger preference for restaurant gift cards as a Valentine’s Day gift than women do at nearly half.
“Celebrating the occasion with a special meal will be on the menu for one-quarter of Americans this February 14, but those who opt to give restaurant gift cards as gifts will, in a sense, extend the holiday to have a special meal another day,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group for the National Restaurant Association.
Given a list of six Valentine’s Day gift options and asked which one they would most like to receive as a Valentine’s Day gift, 31 percent of adults favored restaurant gift cards, followed by jewelry, clothing/apparel, flowers, chocolate and perfume/cologne.
When broken down by gender:
- 46 percent of men favored restaurant gift cards
- 16 percent of men opted for clothing/apparel
- 12 percent of men desired chocolate
- 37 percent of women preferred jewelry
- 23 percent of women favored flowers
- With restaurant gift cards coming in third at 13 percent
The survey also showed that nearly half of American adults don’t plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day at all, or celebrate with things other than a special meal. One-quarter will celebrate Valentine’s Day by dining in a restaurant. In addition, one-quarter plans to celebrate the occasion at home or someone else’s home, and of those, 15 percent plan to order restaurant takeout or delivery.
Among those who plan to dine out on February 14, younger adults are slightly more likely to do so, as are individuals in two-person households compared with those in single-person households and households with three or members.
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