Valentine’s Day is Saturday, Feb. 14, and florists and gift shops throughout Morgan Hill have been busy this week preparing for the holiday.
This year, spending for Valentine’s Day in the U.S. is projected to reach a record of $29.1 billion, with 55% of consumers celebrating and spending an average of $199.78 per person. Key spending areas include candy (56%), flowers (41%), and greeting cards (41%), while jewelry leads in total expenditure at $7 billion. More than half of consumers plan to celebrate, with significant others receiving the most gifts.
Lisa Filice, owner of Gilroy-based Expressions Floral—which has retail and wholesale customers all over South County and beyond—advises consumers to avoid big-box online distributors that shell out for the top results in online searches, Filice added. While those companies often obtain individual orders from local flower retailers, they do not offer traditional customer service and tend to make mistakes.
When searching for a florist online, Filice encourages consumers to scroll down past the first few results “and make sure somebody is a local brick and mortar” before ordering.
