According to a study by Flowwow and Admitad, UAE residents are among the world’s biggest spenders on Valentine’s Day with an average spend of Dh 348.93 on gifts. The research notes significant spending trends across the MENA region with Kuwait leading by spending Dh 462.79 followed by Qatar Dh 271.8 and Egypt Dh 209.3. Saudi Arabia had an average spend of Dh 106.5.
Sales of flowers are spurred each year by Valentine’s Day with purchases growing 550% as revenues increased by 635% during this year, 93% of all Valentine’s purchases in the UAE were for flowers giving the average order value of Dh 275. The region also predicts a 15% year on year increase in gifting sales this year driven by 10% growth in the confectionery sector.
Notably, mobile shopping took a considerable share of the Valentine’s Day sales seeing a growth of 37% throughout the MENA region with Saudi Arabia and the UAE being the dominating mobile buyers. Gifts received by males in Saudi Arabia have never been this much with sports equipment, tools and automobile accessories reflecting a shift in traditional gifting trends.