// Valentine’s Day shopping to gain mere rise in revenue this week
// Shoppers feel restricted in their spending as confidence remains low
// The food & drink sector remains “the greatest opportunity for retailers to entice spend”
The Valentine’s Day shopping period is set to accumulate just over £1 billion in revenue this year in the UK, a mere 0.6 per cent rise on last year, new research found.
Shoppers’ spend on this occasion “remains squeezed by low disposable incomes and consumer confidence” GlobalData reported.
The firm said that fashion and beauty have limited opportunities to drive higher spending around the event than other sectors.
READ MORE: How are retailers capitalising on Valentine’s Day?
Meanwhile, the food and drink sector remains “the greatest opportunity for retailers to entice spend on this occasion”.
“Retailers are hoping to combat this by targeting an alternative audience, taking inspiration from China’s Single’s Day to appeal to those not coupled up with self-gifting,” GlobalData said.
Last year, the high street spending splurge that often comes with Valentine’s Day failed to have save the overall fall in sales for the month of February.
According to the latest High Street Sales Tracker from accountancy and business advisory firm BDO, in-store sales dropped 1.6 per cent compared to a weak benchmark of a 2.2 per cent drop for the same period in 2018.
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