Cupid’s arrow has gone global – Ipsos Global Advisor study

Romance is alive and well in Australia, with more than half our adult population (54%) who have a partner planning to do something special for the occasion, with a romantic night out topping the list, according to a new Ipsos survey.

Across 28 countries, including Australia, more than half of all adults who are married, partnered, engaged, or involved in a romantic relationship planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year. Possibly because of COVID-related concerns and restrictions, spouses and lovers in many countries are more likely to mark the occasion with a romantic dinner at home than they are to go out. Sweets, flowers, and fragrance are the most popular Valentine’s Day gifts globally.  

The key Australian findings:

54% of Australian adults who have a partner are likely to do something special for the occasion. Among them,

• 33% plan a romantic a romantic night out, 33% plan to make love, and 33% flowers;
• 30% plan a romantic dinner at home;
• 24% plan to buy or give chocolates or candy; and
• 20% to send Valentine’s Day cards.

Likelihood to celebrate Valentine’s Day decreases with age – 78% of those aged under 35 years were likely to celebrate, followed by 55% of 35-49 year olds and 34% of 50-74 year olds.  Those not married (66%) were much more likely than those married (48%) to participate in Valentine’s Day.

Most of those who do not plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day despite being in a couple argue that it is too commercial (67%).

In Australia, 90% report being satisfied with the relationship they have with their spouse, partner, fiancé(e), or friend, with the large majority being very satisfied (63%).  Those most likely to report being very satisfied were males (65%), people under 35 years of age (68%), and married people (66%).

Ipsos Australia Director, David Elliott, said: “While our global findings show how Valentine’s Day has spread across the globe, here in Australia - and many other countries - there is a relatively even split between those that do and those that don’t participate.  Among those that participate, Australians are one of the least likely to have that romantic dinner at home but one of the most likely to buy flowers. While among those that don’t participate, we are among the most likely to say that is too much of a commercial/marketing event.”

 

 

Global findings

On average, across 28 countries, 55% of adults who have a partner are likely to do something special for the occasion. Among them, 

• 41% plan a romantic dinner at home and 35% a romantic night out
• 34% plan to buy or give chocolate or candy, 28% flowers, and 20% fragrance or perfume
• 33% plan to make love

Most of those who do not plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day despite being in a couple argue that it is too commercial or that is out of step with their culture and traditions.

Globally, 89% report being satisfied with the relationship they have with their spouse, partner, fiancé(e), or friend. The United States is the country showing the highest levels of both overall partner satisfaction and likelihood to celebrate Valentine’s Day.   

Intention to celebrate Valentine’s Day

The countries surveyed where this Valentine's Day is most likely to be celebrated by partnered adults are geographically, culturally, and economically diverse. They include the U.S., South Africa, Chile, India, Turkey, Mexico, Poland, and China. Across the 28 countries, Valentine’s Day is least widely observed in the Netherlands, South Korea, and Germany.

Younger people in a relationship are more likely to mark the day than are their elders: on average globally, 68% of those under age 35 plan to do so versus 55% of those aged 35-49 and 45% of those aged 50-74. Consistently, those who are not married are more likely to celebrate with their loved one than those who are (61% vs. 52%).

How lovers celebrate

Among those who plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day, 41% on average globally plan to have a romantic dinner at home, 35% to have a romantic night out (restaurant, movie, theatre, concert, etc.), and 33% to make love.

• Having a romantic dinner at home is most popular in Russia (55%) and Canada (54%) where the day is often accompanied with frigid temperatures.
• The countries where couples are most likely to go out to celebrate, Peru and Colombia (both 47%) followed by Argentina and South Africa (both 45%), are all in the Southern Hemisphere, where Valentine’s Day falls in the middle of summer.
• The countries where Valentine Day’s is most often celebrated by making love are South Africa (54%), Argentina (46%), Mexico (45%), Colombia and the United States (both 43%), Brazil (42%), and France (40%).
• Predictably, younger adults who have a valentine are more likely to go out or make love (both mentioned by 41% of those under 35 vs. 24% and 29%, respectively, among those aged 50-74). Men are only slightly more likely to plan on making love on February 14 than are women (36% vs. 30%).

Globally, chocolates or candy are the most common type of gift (34% of those who plan to celebrate intend to buy or give some), followed by flowers (28%), fragrance (20%), wine or liquor (16%), fashion accessories or jewellery (16%), and lingerie or erotic accessories (11%).

These are the countries where each of the top three categories is most popular:

• Chocolate and candy in Japan (75%), South Korea (61%), and Mexico (47%)
• Flowers in India (46%), Sweden (38%), the Netherlands and Turkey (37%), and China (34%)
• Fragrance and perfume in Saudi Arabia (32%), India (29%), South Africa (28%), and Brazil (27%)

While men are much more likely than women to give flowers to their valentine (42% v. 15%), slightly more so to give fragrance (22% vs. 17%), and equally likely to give sweets (34% vs. 33%).

Globally, those who mark Valentine’s Day are equally likely to text or post special messages on social media and to send Valentine’s Day cards (17% each).

• Texting or posting messages is most common in Mexico (36%) and, more generally, among those under 35.
• Sending cards is most common in Great Britain (43%). The propensity to send Valentine’s Day cards is nearly the same across all age groups.

Why not celebrate?

The primary reasons offered by those who do not plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day, despite having a significant other or special friend, are that it’s too much of a commercial or marketing event (47% on average globally) and that “it is not part of my culture and traditions” (37%). Fewer argue that it is too expensive/they can’t afford it (11%), they don’t have the time/they are too busy (10%), and that it is “too old-fashioned” (10%). Only 6% say they are not familiar with it.

• The view that it is too commercial is the most common argument of those who won’t celebrate Valentine’s Day in Belgium (75%), Great Britain (69%), Australia (67%), and France (66%), and more generally among older adults (53%)
• The feeling that it is too foreign to their culture and traditions is the most common reason given in Saudi Arabia (72%), Russia (71%), Colombia (68%), and Malaysia (66%) by those who will not celebrate it with their partner. Globally, it is mentioned by men more than it is by women (42% vs. 33%)

Happy couples

Ahead of the annual celebration of love, the survey finds that vast majorities of those who are in a couple say they are satisfied with their relationship – 89% on average globally, including 61% who say they are very satisfied and 28% somewhat satisfied.

• Overall satisfaction is most prevalent in the United States (94%), followed by Argentina, China, and Mexico (93%), and by Colombia, Great Britain, India, the Netherlands, and South Africa (92%). Except for the Netherlands, these countries are among those where Valentine’s Day is most widely celebrated. The range in overall satisfaction between the countries where it is highest (the U.S.) and lowest (Japan with 75%) is relatively narrow – only 19 percentage points.
• However, there is a wide gap of 51 points between the percentage of those saying they are “very satisfied” with their relationship in Argentina (79%) and in Japan (28%).
• Globally, men are slightly more likely to be very satisfied with their relationship than are women (64% vs. 59%). So are partnered adults under 35 (65%) compared to those in the 35-49 and 50-74 age groups (59% and 60%, respectively).

About the Study

This study did not have any external sponsors or partners. It was initiated and run by Ipsos, because we are curious about the world we live in and how citizens around the globe think and feel about their world.

These are the results of a 28-country survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform. For  the survey, Ipsos interviewed 19,987 adults who are aged 18-74 in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, and Turkey, and 16-74 in 23 other markets between December 23, 2021 and January 7, 2022.

The samples consist of approximately 1,000 individuals in each of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland), France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals in each of Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, and Turkey.

The samples in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S. can be taken as representative of these countries’ general adult population under the age of 75.

The samples in Brazil, Chile, China (mainland), Colombia, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey are more urban, more educated, and/or more affluent than the general population. The survey results for these countries should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more “connected” segment of their population.

The data is weighted so that each market’s sample composition best reflects the demographic profile of the adult population according to the most recent census data.

Depending on the question, the results presented in this report are based on:

• All 12,767 adults surveyed who are currently married, partnered, engaged or involved in a romantic relationship with bases ranging from 282 in Malaysia to 749 in China;
• The 7,112 among them who say they are likely to celebrate Valentine’s Day; or
• The 4,975 who say they are not likely to do so.

Where results do not sum to 100 or the ‘difference’ appears to be +/-1 more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses or the exclusion of don't knows or not stated responses.

Sample surveys and polls may be subject to sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error. The precision of the online surveys conducted is measured using a Bayesian Credibility Interval. Here, the Australian results have a credibility interval of +/-3.5 percentage points. For more information on the Ipsos use of credibility intervals, please go to: https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/2017-03/IpsosPA_CredibilityIntervals.pdf