The Business of Love

In these days of austerity and recession, Valentine’s Day provides a much-needed boost for retailers as romantic shoppers fork out for jewellery and gifts. Restaurants are often fully booked and health & beauty services, such as spa days, sell well. Flower sales rocket, as do prices – Valentine’s day being the second-largest flower-giving occasion after Mother’s Day.

Greetings card manufacturers have one of their best weeks of the year. In the US, The Greeting Card Association (GCA) estimates that approximately 150 million greeting cards will be purchased for Valentine’s Day this year. Dating agencies see increases in gross subscribers between Christmas and Valentine’s day. Amy Canaday, public-relations manager at Match.com, said the flurry of interest often comes as singles decide they are ready to make a change in their love lives after spending the holidays with their married friends and family.

With Valentine’s Day bearing down on us, app developers have come up with smartphone tools that can do just about anything short of guaranteeing you’ll be head over heads in love by Tuesday. There are apps for both the valentine-ready (digital flowers, anyone?) and the valentine-hungry, including every type of mobile-dating tool imaginable. These darts in Cupid’s digital quiver, whether they’re for iPhone or Android, free and fee-based, range from sophisticated to silly to downright stupid.

On this most romantic day, the MBA website has produced the following informatic on the financial value of the celebrating love.

Via: Online MBA Blog