Love, American Style

For those of you old enough to remember this TV show in the late ‘60’s, I’ll bet you can still sing the theme song….

Valentine's Day is Sunday and spending for the holiday could give an indication as to how consumers feel about the economy.

The National Retail Federation projects that the average consumer will spend $103 on the day, up slightly from $102.50 last year. That translates into $14.1 billion in Valentine's Day spending. Interestingly, couples report they plan to spend less on one another, but will spend more on family, friends and co-workers.

This year, couples plan to spend an average of $63.34 on gifts for their significant other or spouse, down nearly 6 percent from $67.22 last year, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2010 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey. At the same time, the average person plans to spend $5.37 on their friends, up 13 percent from $4.74 last year.

The survey also found people plan to spend more on classmates and teachers, co-workers and pets.

Yet another, more optimistic survey from research firm IBISWorld predicted that total Valentine’s Day spending will be up 3.3 percent from last year, reaching $17.6 billion. The caveat here though is that since the holiday falls on a Sunday, more of the spending will move from traditional gift-giving toward dining out.

Either way, that’s a lot of love