Back in 2020, February 14 was celebrated festively in restaurants, bought flowers and traveled freely around the world. But this year, spending on Valentine’s Day has decreased due to the pandemic. Even before the holiday, it was clear that it would be more modest than usual. Medium businesses and restaurants didn’t make about $ 800 million on Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day is a great reason to earn money from restaurants, flower shops, pastry shops, etc. This day is located between the two main Czech holidays – Christmas and Easter. Although the whole country does not celebrate it, they are waiting for this day and buying gifts.
Valentine’s Day in the Czech Republic is celebrated by about every 4 Czechs over the age of 15, which is about 2.3 million people. In 2020, the average spending on gifts was around 670 crowns, with men spending on average around 750 crowns and women spending less than 600 crowns.
It’s no secret that the coronavirus has intervened in the Valentine’s Day celebrations this year. But the holiday of all lovers was still celebrated by about 2 million people. The cost of gifts was lower than usual: men spent about 600 crowns, women about 500 crowns.
“Last year, the spending of the Czech population on Valentine’s Day increased sales by about 1.5 billion crowns, but this year, due to the pandemic, they amounted to about 1.1 billion.” – said economist Lukash Kovanda.
For many restaurants, Valentine’s Day has been a great income. Before the pandemic, many celebrated this day with a romantic dinner in a restaurant or cafe. At the same time, the restaurant business earned an average of 450 million for the holiday. However, this year, despite the delivery and distribution of food through the window, their income was 380 million less.
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Despite the declining spending on Valentine’s Day, flower shops thrived all weekend. A bouquet of flowers is one of the most common gifts for February 14th. Economist Lukasz Kovanda noted before the holiday that sales of flowers, sweets and alcohol will significantly increase.
The demand for florist services in 2021 also increased significantly due to the closure of retail stores and various services such as massage and spas. Before the pandemic, in addition to flowers, there were also gifts of perfume, jewelry, lingerie and travel to romantic cities such as Venice and Paris.
