Wednesday, 15th February 2006 (3858 views)

Online purchases of jewellery and watches rose by 24 per cent to $219 million from the beginning of 2006 to February 9th, according to figures released by comScore networks.

The market research company was conducting consumer behaviour related to Valentine's Day, and also found that people had bought more flowers, greetings and gifts online.

Online spending increased by 17 per cent in this area, while spending on health and beauty products rose by 24 per cent over the period.

The results came as the British Retail Consortium estimated that around £2.3 billion will have been spent on Valentine's gifts for loved ones, with most of the money going on jewellery.

Last year around £437 million was spent on jewellery, six per cent of people receiving a necklace or ring.

According to the National Retail Federation, 22.4 per cent of men planned to give their presents an item of jewellery for a Valentine gift this year, up from 18.1 per cent in 2005.

February 14th is the third biggest holiday in terms of gift-giving, after Christmas and Mother's Day.

 

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