New figures from AIB reveals that over €143m was spent on Valentine's Day last year - a Friday - an increase of 45% on the previous year, when Valentine's Day fell on a Wednesday.
AIB said the number of transactions on Valentine's Day increased 28%, with the average purchase increasing from €43 to €48.
The bank predicts that spending patterns this year will likely be influenced by the Six Nations rugby match between Ireland and Italy on Saturday February 14 in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Today's figures show that the peak day for spending in florists by men last year was Thursday February 13, when €505,000 was spent, with an average spend of €62 on a bunch of flowers.
In its latest Spend Trent report, AIB noted that men from Kerry spent the most on flowers (€72) followed by Limerick (€68) and Sligo (€67).
But men from Westmeath spent the least (€54) followed by Donegal (€55) and Cavan (€57).
In-store purchases accounted for 62% of this spend, reflecting a preference for the personal touch, the bank added.
Women spend more in supermarkets and represented 59% of transactions in February 2025.
But on the evening of Valentine's Day 2025, men accounted for just over half of supermarket spend from 5pm onwards with the average transaction by men that evening €25.
Meanwhile, fast food restaurants enjoyed their best day of the month on Valentine's Day, with an average transaction of €17.
The data was compiled from 67 million card transactions carried out by AIB customers in store and online during February 2025 and has been anonymised and aggregated.
It also showed the average transaction size for jewellery sales on Valentine's Day last year was €142.
AIB noted that 63% of the spend in jewellers that day was by men and 83% was in-store rather than online.
And the peak day for chocolate sales was Thursday, February 13 last year. On that day, women accounted for 54% of the spend.
AIB's Head of Consumer Adrian Moynihan said that Valentine’s Day spending patterns continue to evolve, reflecting not only our love of flowers, food, and supermarket bargains, but also the influence of societal – and sporting - events.
"With Ireland set to face Italy in the Six Nations on Valentine's Day this year, we anticipate a lively atmosphere and a shift in spending trends, especially in Dublin," he added.
