Offaly is Ireland’s second most romantic county as Valentine’s Day shopping soars

Offaly has been named Ireland’s second most romantic county, with consumers there spending 49% more on romantic items this Valentine’s Day compared to last year, according to Bank of Ireland’s Spending Pulse.

Cavan shoppers led the way spending 126% more this year on Valentine’s Day items, with Wicklow spending 38% more than last year followed by Roscommon and Sligo which spent 29% more.

Things were a little more downbeat on the spending front elsewhere in Ireland, with Waterford residents posting a -35% decline in Valentine’s spending, and consumers in counties such as Leitrim (-28%), Kildare (-19%), Kerry (-18%) and Kilkenny (-12%) bringing up the rear in the race to Ireland’s centre of romance.

For Valentine’s Day this year, lovebirds across Ireland purchased romantic gifts, with spending hikes on Spa breaks amongst others. Cavan led the way in Valentine’s Day spending (+126), followed by Offaly (+49%)

Couples across Ireland purchased romantic gifts, with spending hikes on Spa breaks (+62%), Grooming & Beauty (+58%), Jewellery (+47%), Chocolates (+46%), Perfume (+13%), and Flowers (+3%).

Commenting on Bank of Ireland’s Valentine’s Day Spending Pulse, Head of Customer Journeys & SME Markets at Bank of Ireland. Jilly Clarkin, said: “Forget Paris or Rome, Cavan was the place to be for Valentine’s Day this year. Those claiming that romance is dead need only look at Cavan to know that people were happy to splash out on Valentine’s Day. Whether it was a nice bouquet of flowers, a hotel break, or perfume, consumers proved once more that they’re romantics at heart and they’ll go the extra-mile on February 14th.

“Analysis from our digital team also revealed a 3% weekly spike in logins to our digital channels (mobile app, 365online) the day after Valentine’s Day, so people are still keeping a close eye on their financial well-being no matter how Cupid continues to fire his arrow!”

Men splashed out significantly more (82%) on flowers than women (18%), with outlay on boxes of chocolates evenly split at 50/50. When it came to jewellery men also spent more (66%) on February 14th, than their female counterparts (34%), whilst spending on perfume also revealed a near even split with men accounting for 52% of the spend in this area.