Online spending around Valentine’s Day in the UAE has increased by 23 per cent since 2014, according to an analysis of payment card transactions over a three-year period.

While the majority of purchases still happen in person, the number of online transactions increased 43 per cent from Valentine’s Day 2014 to Valentine’s Day 2016, said the annual “Mastercard Love Index”.

Data showed the majority of Valentine’s purchases happen during a last-minute dash on February 13, with over 192,000 transactions taking place that day alone over the past three years in the UAE.

Recent years have shown that the stomach is increasingly the way to one’s heart, with spending in restaurants in the country soaring by 43 per cent since 2014.

“The Mastercard Love Index highlights key global and regional trends to hopefully offer retailers some priceless insight into how customers want to spend the most romantic day of the year,” commented Eyad Al-Kourdi, general manager Southern Gulf & Mena advisor, Mastercard.

The study, which looked at shopper behaviour in more than 200 territories around the globe, also identified some other purchasing trends.

The personal touch still matters: Despite the continued growth of online, 95 per cent of transactions around Valentine’s Day are still made in person. Those in Latin America showed the biggest shift to online, with an increase of 250 per cent from 2014 to 2016, followed by Asia Pacific with an increase of 81 per cent and the Middle East and Africa with a 71 per cent increase. – TradeArabia News Service