The figures come from electronic payments company Paymark, which accounts for more than 75 percent of transactions in retail.
Its data found overall sales in all sectors over the weekend hit $305 million, an increase of 5.3 percent.
Florists led the charge with the biggest hike in sales, with a massive 384 percent jump in sales to hit $989,421.
Other sectors also got a lot of love, too. Cinemas, beauty and hairdressing stores and music stores all had a lift in sales over the weekend, as shown by the graph below.
| Sector | Weekend 6-7th | Weekend13-14th | Percentage change | Money change |
| Watch And Jewellery Retailing | $1,226,786 | $1,926,155 | 57% | $699,369 |
| Movie Outlets | $1,096,574 | $1,464,787 | 33.6% | $368,213 |
Pubs, Bars And Taverns | $6,755,371 | $7,170,999 | 6.2% | $415,628 |
| Restaurants/cafes | $25,720,340 | $27,964,713 | 8.7% | $2,244,373 |
| Music Stores | $315,308 | $408,728 | 29.6% | $93,420 |
| Beauty And Hairdressing | $1,964,826 | $3,352,723 | 70.6% | $1,387,897 |
| Florists | $204,178 | $989,421 | 384.6% | $785,242 |
| Gift Stores | $2,397,172 | $2,926,033 | 22.1% | $528,861 |
| Pet Shops | $901,557 | $982,315 | 9% | $80,757 |
| Transport/travel | $9,613,041 | $13,218,808 | 37.5% | $3,605,766 |
| Taxi | $458,102 | $460,774 | 0.6% | $2,672 |
| All sectors (including those not listed above) | $289,634,860 | $305,063,060 | 5.3% | $15,428,200 |
Overall sales on Paymark’s network grew 5.3 percent, but chief marketing officer Tim McFarlane wasn’t certain whether this could be fully attributed to the day of love.
“…whether that is influenced by the long weekend, the weather, or romance remaining alive and kicking isn’t something we can determine,” McFarlane says.
Palmerston North residents were found to be the country’s biggest romantics by Google, with residents Googling Valentine’s Day more than other city in the country.
Top search terms included “Valentine’s Day NZ”, “Valentine’s Day ideas”, “Valentine’s Day cards” and “Valentine’s Day poems”.
Over in the US, spending was predicted to hit US$19.6 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.
It found the average man will spend $133.61 on gifts this year, while the average woman would spend $62.14 on their special someone.
There was also a sector of the market (perhaps the lonelier people) who planned to shower their pets with love and adoration on the big day instead.
The average American was planning on spending $26.24 on their animal companions.
This may also be the case with New Zealand and its animal lovers, with pet shops experiencing a nine percent growth in sales.
This article originally appeared on The Register.
