California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

This Valentine’s Day, lover’s wallets appear to be opening up again eager to
shower their loved ones with special gifts.  According to the national Federation
of Retailers, on average, a person will shell out $116.21 for traditional Valentine’s
Day merchandise this year, up 11 percent over last year’s $103.00 as conducted by
BIGresearch.  Total holiday spending is expected to reach $15.7 billion.

While greeting cards will be the most popular gift option (52.1 percent), jewelry
is expected to be a big hit as well with 17.3 percent planning on buying their
loved ones something sparkly, up from 15.5 percent last year.  The survey also
found spending across the board is expected to be up this year.

Men will spend the most on Valentine’s Day gifts. The average man plans to shell
out more than twice as much ($158.71) as the average woman ($75.79) – perhaps
suggesting men are ignoring the “it’s the thought that counts” sentiment this year,
the retailers group says.

Discount stores (36.6 percent) will be the most popular shopping destination, but
department stores (30.5 percent), specialty stores (19.4 percent) and online (18.1
percent) will share much of the holiday traffic as well. Others will check out their
local florist (16.8 percent) and jewelry store (9.5 percent).

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.