You can’t put a price on love (not to mention the cost-of-living crisis), but it is expected Australians will fork out more than $450 million this Valentine’s Day.

Research from the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and Roy Morgan suggests 3.4 million people in Australia will be buying gifts this year to show their love.

In total, it’s expected the country will spend $465 million on Wednesday and while that is a lot of money, that figure is down 4.1 per cent, or $20 million compared to 2022.

ARA CEO Paul Zahra acknowledged that cost-of-living pressures were certainly going to affect spending on Valentine’s Day this year.

“With 700,000 less Australians planning to buy a gift for a loved one this Valentine’s Day, it’s clear just how much of an impact the rising cost of living is having on households,” he said.  

But there’s one generation that is seemingly not going to let the cost-of-living crisis get in the way of Valentine’s Day.

According to Compare the Market, millennials are expected to spend more than double of what the average Australian couple will spend for Valentine’s Day.

“Love-sick millennials will shell out a whopping $334.35 for their partner’s Valentine’s Day gift,” Compare the Market said.

“This is followed by Gen Z ($185) and Gen X ($142). Meanwhile, Baby Boomers appear to show their love in other ways, with the average senior spending just $20 on Valentine’s Day.”

The fact that younger generations were planning on spending more money aligns with what the ARA-Roy Morgan research found.

The ARA-Roy Morgan research said the 18- to 34-year-old demographic was set to remain the highest-spending demographic on Valentine’s Day, spending $145 million this year.

That same age group spent $215 million in 2023.

Australians will still spend millions this Valentine’s Day. Photo: Getty

The go-to Valentine’s Day gifts

It should be no surprise that flowers were the most popular gift of choice among respondents in the ARA-Roy Morgan research, and 48 per cent said they would be picking up a bouquet for their partner this year.

Additionally, 33 per cent said they would be buying chocolates, while 11 per cent were planning on doing a nice dinner or a trip away.

Chances are, if you’re picking up flowers on February 14, or even the night before, they’re going to be a little bit pricey.

Fortunately, you don’t need to spend all that much on gifts.

Compare the Market had a few ideas for romantic gestures and gifts that don’t cost an arm and a leg.

For V-Day dinner, eating in could be your best bet, plus it could then turn into a movie night.

Instead of buying a Valentine’s Day card, write a love letter and pair it with something baked.

Perhaps you want to go full retro but stay in the 21st century? In that case, make a mixed tape, or rather a playlist on Spotify or Apple Music.

You can always just postpone the celebrations altogether, which will end up saving you money.