VoucherCodes.co.uk Finds Millennials Would Rather Celebrate 'PALentine's Day' With Their Friends Than a Romantic Evening With Their Partners

LONDON, Feb. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --

• The rise of PALentine's Day – a fifth of millennials (21%) spend Valentine's Day with friends and a third (34%) exchange gifts with a pal
• Half of millennials (54%) admit they look for a last-minute date – a fifth slide into a stranger's DMs (20%) or spend the evening with an ex (18%)
• The UK is set to spend over £990m celebrating Valentine's Day this year – the average person will spend £28.60 on a gift for their partner
• A romantic meal and a weekend away top the polls for the best way to celebrate Valentine's Day
• Flowers, chocolates and jewellery are the nation's favourite Valentine's Day gifts – but a teddy bear is voted the worst possible present!
• Try the Compatibility Calculator here

Millennials are increasingly likely to feel comfortable being single on Valentine's Day, choosing to instead be with their friends, according to new research released today.

VoucherCodes.co.uk, the leading savings site, surveyed over 2,000 people across the country and discovered that a fifth (21%) of millennials will reject the traditional norm and rebuff social expectations by spending Valentine's Day with friends this year.

A quarter of millennials (23%) have been on a friend date and a third (34%) have exchanged Valentine's gifts with a pal. The average millennial is prepared to spend £39.90 to celebrate Valentine's Day with a friend - 30% more than they would be willing to spend on a partner if they had been together less than a year (£30.70).

There is also a case of solidarity between friends in either celebrating their independence or sharing a common goal – one in eight (12%) have thrown a PALentine's Day party to actively rejoice being a singleton and two out of five (40%) head for speed-dating with a friend. A fifth (19%) admit they have hooked up with a friend on Valentine's Day and a half (51%) confess it is something they would consider.  

Last minute rush to find a date

Half of millennials (45%) feel under pressure to have a date for Valentine's Day, causing half (54%) to confess they will spend February chasing a last-minute date. A quarter (24%) believe Valentine's Day is the loneliest time of the year to be single. This is double the number who feel alone when they have no-one to kiss on New Year's Eve (13%) and as a singleton on their birthday (12%),

The research has found that millennials have been guilty of adopting a varying range of tactics in the past to make sure they have a date for February 14th, with varying degrees of success. The usual avenues are the most popular, with a quarter (27%) having gone on the hunt at a pub or bar and one in five (22%) pursuing someone on dating apps.  More surprisingly, a fifth (20%) have even slid into a stranger's DMs and 1 in 10 (9%) put out a request for a date on at least one of their social profile pages. It seems that millennials are also happy to overlook decisions and repeat past mistakes in the search for a Valentine, with a fifth (18%) returning to an ex and 1 in 6 (16%) calling on someone they had previously turned down advances from.

Valentine's Day plans

The UK is set to spend over £990m¹ celebrating Valentine's Day this year, with the average person planning to spend £28.60 on a gift. Men (£31.70) will spend 25% more on gifts for their partner than women (£25.70). However, a third (34%) of Brits and a quarter (26%) of couples who have been together longer than a year will spend less than £10 this year.

It can be a pressure-filled situation, as the ability to deliver a romantic experience and a special gift is often seen as a measure of how much invested individuals are in the relationship. Indeed, a third (34%) admit that sentimental value is the factor they're most looking for from their partner on Valentine's Day, with a quarter insisting it has to be romantic (25%), a surprise (24%) or personal (23%).

When it comes to plans, the research has discovered that the tried-and-tested path is the way to go. A romantic meal (41%) was voted as the nation's favourite way to spend Valentine's Day, followed by a weekend away (36%).

While a quarter want a special surprise date (19%), the invitation to move away from the norm is not a suggestion to do something active. The likes of climbing or mini golf (18%) came second only to watching a sports match (33%) as the worst ways to spend Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day gifts

The research has shown its better to play it safe on traditional Valentine's Day gifts as flowers (17%), jewellery (12%) and chocolates (12%) came out on top as favourites. However, not everything that rom-coms have taught is true, with teddy bears (14%) voted the worst present.

The research has revealed that the most romantic day of the year is in fact not the time for men to try spice up activity in the bedroom, with underwear (11%) and redeemable 'love tokens' (7%) among the presents women most hate to receive.

Half of the UK (47%) admit they have previously bought a bad gift. A quarter (28%) blame a lack of money and a fifth (21%) confess they left it until the last minute, however the reason can be a little more sinister for millennials in particular. A tenth confess they mixed their partner up with an ex (12%), wanted to be dumped (10%) or had more than one person to buy for (10%).

Anita Naik, Lifestyle Editor at VoucherCodes.co.uk, said: "The UK is set to spend over £990m on a variety of intimate plans and personal gifts this year. Far from being risqué and adventurous, the research has shown that we'd be safer sticking to traditional celebrations like a romantic meal with some flowers.

"If you need some inspiration this Valentine's Day, we invite you to put your relationship to the test by trying our Compatibility Calculator. The fun quiz gives you the opportunity to get your hands on a range of bespoke discounts and deals for romantic treats including flowers, fragrances and holidays depending on how you truly feel about your partner."

Notes to Editors:

VoucherCodes.co.uk surveyed 2,003 people across the country to discover how the nation will be spending Valentine's Day this year.

¹ £990,065,420.65