indicatorThe Twenty-Four

The Cupid effect

Spending on dining and entertainment on Valentine’s Day in Alberta

By Rob Roach, ATB Economics 14 February 2024 1 min read

Valentine’s Day is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is associated with people going out for the evening and can provide a nice boost for restaurants and other businesses during what can be a slow month.

But does spending on going out actually increase on February 14th?

It does. 

Using our ATB Consumer Spending Tracker, we can see a jump in spending on “dining and entertainment” in Alberta on Valentine’s Day.*

From 2019 to 2023, dining and entertainment spending on Valentine’s Day was 24% higher than the daily average for the month. If you exclude 2021 and 2022 (when the pandemic was in play), the increase is 32%.  

The day of the week has a large impact on dining and entertainment spending. We take this into account in the chart below.

In 2019, Valentine’s Day fell on a Thursday, on a Friday in 2020, and on a Tuesday in 2023. Relative to the other Thursdays, Fridays, and Tuesdays in those months, spending experienced a notable jump on Valentine’s Day.

So if you’re headed out for dinner or a movie tonight, you’re in good company!

*Represents the value of ATB consumer Mastercard transactions on “dining and entertainment.”

Answer to the previous trivia question: According to Statistics Canada, there were 41,505 farms in Alberta in 2021, accounting for 21.9% of all farms in Canada.

Today’s trivia question: In what year was Bishop Valentine (later Saint Valentine) martyred?

Spending in dining and entertainment in Alberta was higher on Valentine's Day than other days in February in 2019, 2020 and 2023 (the data series starts in 2019; data for 2021 and 2022 are not comparable due to the impact of the pandemic)

Spending in dining and entertainment in Alberta was higher on Valentine's Day than other days in February in 2019, 2020 and 2023 (the data series starts in 2019; data for 2021 and 2022 are not comparable due to the impact of the pandemic)


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