UK shares the love with 10% jump in spend ahead of Valentine’s Day

Last-minute shopping online brings today’s average spend on Valentine’s Day to £85

Sage Pay, the UK’s leading online payment processor, has reported a 10% jump in the UK’s average online spend in the run-up to the romantic holiday, compared to last year.

Sage Pay processed hundreds of thousands of transactions over the week running up to Valentine’s Day.  Analysis of the data revealed that the average online spend for top retailers jumped from £77 in 2011 to £85 in 2012.

The UK’s lovers are also becoming a nation of last-minute shoppers, with the busiest spike in sales from the past week taking place yesterday lunchtime, with tens of thousands of transactions taking place.  The figures also reveal a surprising trend that, unlike at Christmas, consumers are prepared to leave their shopping as late as possible.

Simon Black, CEO of Sage Pay Europe, said: “With all of us having less and less time to shop for the perfect gift in the run-up to Valentine’s Day, the nation’s Romeos and Juliets have been turning to the web right up to the last minute to spoil their loved ones.  With recent figures showing that e-commerce now accounts for around 7.2% of the UK’s GDP, it’s crucial that businesses are able to handles these peaks in demand.”

Black continued: “It’s also clear that we’re an increasingly time-squeezed nation, as the lunchtime hours have been the busiest times for online gift shopping over the past week.  With the largest spikes in sales taking place right before Valentine’s Day, it’s more important than ever that businesses provide next-day delivery so that Cupid’s arrows arrive on time.”