Ireland’s Visa card holders will spend €10m in florists on Valentine’s Day

Ireland's Visa card holders will spend €10m in florists on Valentine's Day

Ireland’s Visa card holders will spend €10m in florists on Valentine’s Day

Visa Europe is predicting that Ireland’s Visa card users will spend around €10m in florist shops this St Valentine’s Day.

Based on card data from previous years, the company said around 40pc of Irish people will buy flowers for their loved ones, most will leave their purchases until the last minute, and those who purchase from florists will spend an average of €30 or more.

In 2012, over the three days between 12 and 14 February, €22.5m was spent on Visa cards – debit, credit and prepaid – in florists, with almost half of the total amount being spent on Valentine’s Day itself. The average spend in florists on Visa cards was €33.89. This level of consumer spending is expected to rise this year.

There were over 290,000 purchases in florists with Visa cards on Valentine’s Day last year, with almost 20pc of purchases made over the phone or online.

Visa said 13 February was the second busiest day in florists, with almost 230,000 card purchases. During the week of Valentine’s Day in 2012, there were almost 790,000 Visa card purchases in florists, an increase of over 50pc on the previous seven days.

“Irish shoppers are using their Visa cards – debit, credit and prepaid – for everyday purchases more than ever due to the added convenience and security associated with electronic payments,” said Conor Langford, vice president Ireland, Visa Europe.

According to the company, there are approximately 4.9 million Visa cards in Ireland, with 201 million transactions taking place per annum. It said that in 2012, €1 in every €7 of consumer spending in Ireland was on a Visa card.