Do you have a price for love? Experts say this Valentine’s Day will cost you

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - Are you planning on celebrating big on Valentine’s Day? Whether you are buying yourself flowers or buying them for a significant other, experts say to expect higher prices across the board.

According to experts, Americans are expected to spend nearly $26 billion on special gifts for their loved ones. That data shows people will be spending more this year than in previous years.

Matt Biggs owns Casas Adobes Flower Shop and has just about every flower you can imagine in his shop.

“In our experience this year our prices for everything have gone up on our cost end of it,” Biggs said. “Everything we’ve had to buy has been increased.”

Biggs said they are doing everything to keep prices down on flowers like roses, tulips, lilies and daisies. However, due to inflation, the cost to get those flowers to Tucson has skyrocketed significantly making it difficult to keep consumer costs low.

“We tried our best to keep our prices about the same where they were but it has certainly been a challenge,” Biggs said. “We had to get more efficient to offer the same prices on the buying end of it.”

Despite costing 6% more than last year, flowers are one of the cheapest gifts to give this Valentine’s Day.

According to experts, the prices of your favorite chocolates and candy are up more than 11%. If you plan on eating out for the holiday that meal is expected to cost 8% more.

Biggs says supply chain disruptions and production due to the pandemic are to blame for these prices.

“Some of our other shippers that have been moving our flowers around have faced some challenges that have delayed them. That has nothing to do with the flower business but produce issues and all sorts of things,” Biggs said.

Biggs said it definitely has been a challenge since the demand for flowers is high.

So far this year he already has over 1,000 orders for Valentine’s Day, showing people are ready to spend big for their special Valentine.

“We are continually looking for solutions on how to sustain and how to maintain the quality and the quantity that we’ve been used to expecting,” Biggs said.

To get the most life out of your flowers, Biggs recommends changing the water often and making sure you’re adding the packaged food that comes with your bouquet to the vase.

He adds people might even consider buying lilies and gladiolas instead of roses and hydrangeas. According to Biggs since they live longer you’ll get more bang for your buck.

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