Valentine's Day: A Holiday for Love or Profit?

Valentine’s Day is centered around love and friendship, yet is a holiday where corporations once again make a huge profit off consumers’ purchasing habits. With expectations perpetuated and maintained by society, consumerism and materialistic spending prevails. 

Valentine’s Day is celebrated annually on the fourteenth of February, accompanied with social pressures for couples to participate in a love-oriented holiday. Its popularity may stem from its aesthetic appeal and a recent perspective that extends beyond romantic relationships. In recent years, it’s become a popular trend for female friends or singles to throw Galentines parties. An emphasis is placed on platonic relationships rather than romantic relationships, but the sentiment remains the same: lining the pockets of corporations who sell products tailored to the holiday. 

Origins of Valentine’s Day: Historical Context and Current Implications

The holiday is said to have begun as a day of memorial for St. Valentine, a priest who secretly wed young couples so young men could escape serving in the military. Once the emperor discovered the priest was directly defying an order, he was sentenced to death. This is one of the holiday’s three variations involving men named Saint Valentines who were put to death for their deeds against the empire. Despite its ancient origins, Valentine’s Day was not associated with love until the Middle Ages–and it has no doubt evolved since then. Now, it is regarded as a holiday for couples to express their love to one another or as a celebration of friendship among girl friends. No matter the reasoning, it has now become another means for corporations to profit off people and enforce consumerism and materialistic purchases.

Love Connection or Monetary Reward? A Corporation’s Role in the Holiday

Valentine’s Day is expected to generate 27.5 billion dollars in sales in the United States alone this year, with 56% of consumers in the U.S. planning to participate. Industries that benefit the most are florists ($2.9 billion), restaurants ($5.4 billion), candy and chocolate manufacturers ($2.5 billion), jewelry and engagement ring stores ($6.5 billion) and greeting cards ($1.4 billion). Valentine’s Day is the second biggest holiday for cards behind Christmas. With this much in sales on the line, it is no surprise that many corporations invest in catering their products to fit with the themes of Valentine’s Day. Capitalizing from holidays is a smart move for corporations since consumers prove year after year that they will literally buy into the holiday and spend billions of dollars on materialistic purchases, all in the name of love.

Even I Could Not Dodge Cupid’s Arrow

I too fall prey to the current implications of Valentine’s Day. Whether it’s buying gifts for my boyfriend or planning a Galentine’s celebration with my friends, I contribute to the spending habits of American consumers. While I fully believe the holiday to be a ploy for corporations to make a large profit, I still buy into the idea they sell us. I am not the only one with the same–sometimes pessimistic–view of the holiday. 55% of consumers in the U.S. in 2022 believed Valentine’s Day to be too commercialized and marketed as a reason as to why they choose not to celebrate. As consumers, we need to be mindful of the ways we spend our money and whether we are doing so because we want to or because we are led to believe we have to. Corporations make a killing off the belief that if you are in a relationship, then you have to show your spouse that you care and thus need to buy them things. This materialistic approach is simply rooted in consumerism and upheld by a capitalistic society in which corporations feed off enticing consumers to make targeted purchases. 

The Final Rose: Concluding Thoughts

As a young professional in the public relations field, I think it is important to be cognisant of consumers’ views on Valentine's Day. While data has shown that many Amercians participate in holiday spending, many others share the sentiment that it’s over-marketed and obviously rooted in profit-seeking corporations rather than goodwill. With that being said, it’s important to be mindful of different publics and their perceived feelings. In creating content, it may not always be best to directly market products toward the public. Taking a creative approach toward marketing may be more well received in navigating the tricky, profit-driven holiday we call Valentine’s Day.

Jaelyn Patton is a junior majoring in Advertising and Public Relations (PR emphasis) with minors in Digital Studies and Applied Communication. She is also a part of GrandPR currently serving as an Account Executive. After graduation, she hopes to work at a PR agency in Detroit.