Valentine’s Day: Loved up Brits pay up to six times more than partners expect on gifts

NEW research has revealed that Brits are spending up to six times more on gifts than their loved ones expect.

The research, conducted by voucher discount site MyVoucherCodes ahead of Valentine’s Day, looked to discover how much money we typically spend on gifts for our partners and compare it to expectations on gift cost depending on relationship length.

It turns out, Brits are very generous lovers. On average, the most a Brit has ever spent on a present is £532.38 and even around £100 (£98.91) would be spent on a “smaller gift”. Yet no one, not even those in the longest relationships expect to receive a present costing more than £85.

Whilst it seems unusual to say, “be less generous when gifting”, 51% of Brits admit to matching the estimated price of a previous gift – meaning many romantics are wasting money on expensive gifts that we don’t expect to receive.

It was also discovered that men spend the most on their significant other for special occasions – as much as £230 more than the opposite sex in some cases.

In fact, men were found to be the biggest spenders whatever the occasion – they averaged £100 higher on the most expensive birthday, Christmas and Valentine’s Day presents.

But, it’s not just planned romance where men come out on top; they were also recorded as being the most generous spontaneous gift-givers, with the highest amount being spent on a surprise present coming in at £539 – compared to £327 for women. In fact, over one in 10 male Brits (13%) said that their most expensive gift ever was a spontaneous one.

The survey found that there is a definite “relationship length to spend” ratio, with Brits revealing they would spend more on a present for their partner the longer they have been together, roughly increasing 13% year on year:

The findings show that Brits are more prepared to part with cash for their long-term lovers, with £85 cited as a suitable spend for a couple together for eight years or longer – double the chosen amount for a relationship younger than a year old.