4 in 10 plan on celebrating Valentine’s Day this year, with romantic dinners at home, sending cards and having sex

New Valentine's Day polling by Ipsos shows that 4 in 10 Britons plan on celebrating with their loved one this year (41%), increasing to 53% of those in a relationship,  while more than half say they are unlikely to do so (56%), 44% of those in a relationship say they are unlikely to celebrate.

Among those likely to celebrate on 14th February, people are most likely to have a romantic dinner at home (49%), send Valentine’s Day cards (40%) or have sex/make love (36%).

Chocolates and flowers are other popular options, likely to be given by 34% and 32% of those celebrating respectively. Only 3% say they are likely to take big steps by either proposing to their partner or starting new with a first date.

When those who are unlikely to celebrate are asked why, most say the holiday is too much of a commercial/marketing event (45%) while others say they have no one to celebrate with (34%) or it is too expensive (18%).

Considering the age old question of who should pay the dinner bill, Britons are most likely to say it should be split equally. Given a scenario in which a man and a woman go out for dinner together, 34% say they should split the bill down the middle while a quarter (25%) say it should be paid by the person who invited the other on the date. Around 1 in 5 (22%) say the man should pay for the bill while 15% believe each person should pay for the items they ordered. An insignificant proportion say the woman should pay (1%).

When considering what actions are acceptable on Valentine’s Day, it appears few are off the table. Around 3 in 5 say it is OK for people to propose on the holiday (74%) or give homemade presents (74%) while two-thirds say the same for getting married (66%) or going on a first date (67%). Six in 10 (60%) say it is fine to send an anonymous Valentine’s Day card and half (52%) say it’s acceptable to not to anything to celebrate if you are in a relationship.

Despite the increase in costs since last year, a majority expect to spend the same amount of Valentine’s Day this year as they did in 2022 (55%). One in 5 (21%) say they will spend more this year compared to only 15% who expect to spend less.

Research Director Keiran Pedley, at Ipsos, said:

This data suggests Britons are somewhat split on Valentines Day. Whilst a majority of those in a relationship plan to celebrate in the obvious ways, more than two in five will not; mainly as the day is seen as too commercial or expensive. Meanwhile, on the age old question of who should pay for dinner, one in five still think the man should pay, with men much more likely to think so than women.

Technical Note

Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,000 adults aged 18-75 in Great Britain. Interviews took place on the online Omnibus 8th-9th February 2023. Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.