What's the Cost of Love? $19.6 Billion

By Beth Dalbey and Kara Seymour:

American consumers are poised to spend $19.6 billion saying “I love you” this Valentine’s Day, according to a study released by the business research group IBISWorld.

The sales projection is 3.8 percent above 2014 Valentine’s Day sales, due mainly to two factors:

The holiday falls on Saturday, allowing lovers to make more extravagant plans, and lower gas prices – which, though inching up in the past couple of weeks, are still significantly lower than the $3.28 per gallon Americans were paying for gasoline a year ago.

The higher Valentine’s Day sales projections follow strong fourth-quarter 2014 sales in the retail and hospitality industries, which saw a 4.1 percent from 2013 as consumer confidence rose and unemployment fell, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Valentine’s Day sales are expected to increase in all categories, whether greeting cards, candy, jewelry, flowers, dining out, clothing and lingerie, or romantic getaways. But the most popular gifts continue to be:

• Dinner out (estimated sales of $9,858,900)
• Romantic getaways (estimated sales of $2,615,700)
• Candy (estimated sales of $2,120,200)
• Flowers (estimated sales of $1,837,700)

But will record-breaking cold send a chill through the Valentine’s Day warmth in Doylestown? It may be the perfect year to curl up at home with your special someone, as forecasters are predict a “harsh arctic outbreak” over the weekend, bringing a chance of snow Saturday and a five-day stretch of brutal cold.

Wind chill values may fall to 10 below zero on Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning. Gusty northwest winds may be strong enough to cause widespread power outages, according to the NWS.

Temperatures on Sunday and Monday could plunge to the lowest the area has seen since 2004 and the coldest February weather in more than 19 years.

(Photo: via Flickr/Creative Commons)