Plymouth gears up for a ‘weekend of wooing’ with shoppers set to spend £2.9m celebrating Valentine’s Day

Shoppers in Plymouth are feeling loved-up this Valentine’s Day as new research shows they’ll splash out more than £2.9m on gifts, wining and dining, and mini-breaks.

A survey of 2,000 people by British Land, owners of Drake Circus, found that more than half (62%) of Plymouth residents will celebrate the most romantic day of the year, with one in four (26%) planning to treat their loved ones the weekend prior.

With this in mind, Drake Circus has dubbed the weekend of 10th and 11th February the ‘weekend of wooing’ as Plymouth’s retailers prepare for a surge in visitors.

But Plymouth love birds expecting to be woken up with a romantic breakfast in bed may be disappointed as just 4 per cent say they’ll be making breakfast in bed this year, with one in six (18%) preferring to put their culinary skills to practice for an evening meal.

When it comes to choosing the perfect Valentine’s gift, it seems Plymouth residents are hopeless romantics, as traditional presents - greetings cards (44%), flowers (26%) and chocolates (28%) - remain among the most popular ways to say ‘I love you’.

And it’s not just other halves that will be treated this year either as, in some cases, mums (2%), pets (4%), and best friends (6%) can expect to receive a Valentine’s gift too.

Greg Lumley, centre director at Drake Circus, said: “Valentine’s Day is a busy time for our retailers as shoppers look to celebrate and treat their loved ones. With one in four residents likely to be celebrating the weekend prior to Valentine’s Day this year, we’re looking forward to spreading the love and helping people to choose the perfect gift.”