Flowers? Chocolates? Day at the local spa? What women really, really want for Valentine's Day is jewelry! A survey taken by Smartbargains.com revealed that 62% of the 300 women interviewed wanted bling. Gentlemen - take note!

According to consumer research by the National Retail Federations, 60.9 percent of consumers do celebrate the day and racked up a total Valentine's Day spending of $13.70 billion in 2006. The good news is that men are the biggest spenders with the average male spending $135.67, almost double the amount an average female will spend. Even better news is that more men are purchasing jewelry for that special someone - 22.4% in 2006 vs. 18.1% in 2005. So 2007 is looking good.

Canadians just love Valentine's Day. The Retail Council of Canada's commissioned a 2006 survey which revealed that 84% of Canadians intended to recognize a loved one on February 14. Canadians between the ages of 35-44 are the most likely to give gifts with Ontarians being the biggest spenders.

Last year, the Diamond Trading Company undertook a large international survey with 6,054 respondents in 14 countries around the world, including: Saudi Arabia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UK and USA. Although 80% of British women put diamonds at the top of their wish list, they were the sorely disappointed. British (and German) men were rated at the bottom of the romantic list. What about French men with the reputation to be the most romantic? Alas, French women did not agree! The most romantic men turned out to be the Italians - more than 1 in 10 of their lady loves received a diamond!

References

"What women really want for Valentine's Day"

National Retail Federation's "Men to Pay High Price for Love on Valentine’s Day"

CNW Group's "Canadian Consumers "In Love" with Valentine's Day"

If Money Was No Object 80% of Women Want a Diamond for Valentine's Day

The Diamond Trading Company International survey