Is Australia falling out of love with Valentine’s Day shopping?
For decades, Valentine’s Day has been one of retail’s most reliable calendar hooks – a pastel-pink interlude between the Christmas clearance and Easter fare. But in 2026, a question lingers over Australian retail’s enduring affection for Cupid: is the country falling out of love with the holiday, or simply redefining romance on its own terms?
According to new figures from the Australian Retail Council (ARC) and Roy Morgan, only 12 per cent of Australians – around three million people – plan to buy a Valentine’s Day gift this year, marking a four-point drop from 2025. Cost-of-living pressures have dulled the impulse for grand gestures, but not extinguished it entirely. Those still celebrating are prepared to spend an average of $152 each, suggesting that while fewer households are taking part, the value of love – or at least, the commerce around it – remains resilient.
“We’re seeing a narrowing of participation as households make careful choices about non-essential spending,” said ARC chief industry engagement officer, Fleur Brown. “But many couples are still finding ways to say, ‘I’m thinking of you’ just in a more considered way.”
The new language of love
This “considered love” mindset reflects a broader cultural shift towards intimacy over indulgence. Consumers are trading luxury for locality, opting for small, meaningful gestures and shared experiences – a dinner at a local bistro, a picnic in the park, or flowers sourced from nearby florists. It’s a subtle but important recalibration in a market long driven by indulgence and novelty.
Flowers still top the list of purchases, claimed by 40 per cent of shoppers, followed by chocolates, alcohol and jewellery. Yet experiences continue to trend upwards – the kind that build memories rather than clutter. Two-thirds of Australians who plan to celebrate will do so over a meal, whether at home or in a restaurant, with young adults aged 18–34 most likely to book a table.
Retailers, meanwhile, are recalibrating their Valentine’s formulas. Beauty and fragrance categories, historically central to the holiday, are now competing with “micro-luxuries” – small but emotionally charged items positioned as affordable indulgences. Giftable mini fragrances, limited-edition candles and co-branded dessert collaborations are filling the shelves, capturing consumers eager for connection without financial guilt.
Romance, redefined by restraint
The numbers also reveal an emerging pragmatism: 62 per cent of Australians expect to spend about the same as last year, and only 10 per cent plan to spend less. Men remain more likely than women to buy gifts, and to spend more – $171 to women’s $123 on average – but across demographics, spending is stable rather than exuberant.
This stability, as paradoxical as it may seem, could be Valentine’s Day’s saving grace. The holiday’s relevance no longer hinges on scale, but sentiment. In an age defined by economic caution and emotional fatigue, the act of marking Valentine’s Day, however modestly, carries renewed meaning. The question, then, is how retail can monetise sentimental value.
The heart still beats
With total expected spending of $550 million, a modest 2.8 per cent rise on last year, Valentine’s Day remains a steady contributor to the retail calendar. But its cultural power lies less in the checkout and more in the ritual – the annual reminder that relationships, and by extension experiences, still matter.
For retailers, the challenge is clear: romance remains alive in Australia, but it’s no longer loud. Winning over the modern Valentine’s consumer means shifting from spectacle to sincerity – trading glitter for meaning, and campaigns that sell love as connection, not consumption.
As Fleur Brown puts it, “Australians still value moments of connection. A small gesture, a shared meal, or a simple night out can still feel special.”
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