Valentine's Day a good day for Macon retailers

Jeff Amerson tries to get his wife something special for Valentine's Day each year. The two have been married more than 40 years.

But sometimes he relies on a traditional Valentine's gift. He might have a nice flower arrangement, for example, sitting on the kitchen counter when she gets home from a hard day's work.

His wife, Joy Amerson, works long hours leading up to Cupid's big day. She and her sister, Burney Ingle, own Jean & Hall Florists on Cherry Street in downtown Macon.

They work with flowers every day but still enjoy getting them.

Flowers, candy and jewelry top the list of what people give on Valentine's Day, according to the National Retail Federation. And people nationwide are expected to spend an average of $142.31 this year, up from $133.91 last year, based on a consumer spending survey conducted by the federation. Total spending is expected to reach $18.9 billion -- the highest since 2010.

About 38 percent are expected to buy flowers, spending a total of $2.1 billion.

"We are having a good Valentine's, and we had a good Valentine's last year," Joy Amerson said.

But they don't try to see "how much we can do. We want the quality to be there, and we know what we can do well. We know what we can made and get delivered in a reasonable time."

The shop was abuzz Friday afternoon with a number of workers making arrangements, others putting together fruit and snack baskets, others waiting on customers as they came in to pick up arrangements, and drivers loading up vans for deliveries.

The store is not open on Valentine's Day this year because "every Sunday is a closed day for us," Amerson said.

"But Monday is a Valentine's Day, too," she said. "We are going to have a very busy Monday. I think it's because people are thinking it's the closest work day to Valentine's, and they may be away on the weekend."

Floral designer Debra Hopkins said a man wanted an arrangement delivered on Monday so his wife could enjoy them at the office all week. If she got the flowers on Friday, she would have brought them home.

The shop normally has four delivery drivers, but it brought in extra help from family and friends to have seven people delivering Valentine's Day gifts Friday.

"Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, definitely those are our two busiest holidays of the entire year," Amerson said.

Nationwide, most people (50 percent) plan to buy candy for the holiday, spending a total of $1.7 billion. One in five (19.9 percent) plan to buy jewelry for a total of $4.8 billion -- the highest estimated tally since the federation began tracking spending on Valentine's gifts five years ago.

Richard Cortes, owner of Cortes Jewelers on Forsyth Road in Macon, said he hasn't noticed customers looking for anything in particular, but "we've sold several heart-shaped pieces. Just nicer quality diamond and gemstone jewelry seems to be what we're selling more of."

Sales are comparable to last Valentine's Day.

"We've seen an increase in the size of the ticket sale but a decrease in the number of sales," Cortes said. "Last year we were up every month. ... I think last year people seemed a little more confident that the economy was rebounding ... and a little more optimistic."

The federation's survey seems to agree with Cortes' experience.

"It's great to see consumers coming out of their shell this year," Pam Goodfellow, a principal analyst with Prosper Insights & Analytics, said in a release. Prosper Insights conducted the survey for the federation. "(They are) looking to spend discretionary budgets on those they love once again."

To contact writer Linda S. Morris, call 744-4223, or follow her on Twitter @MidGaBiz.

Expected gifts and amount spent for Valentine's Day 2016

Gift Percent Average amount

Candy 50.0 percent $26.22

Flowers 36.4 percent $40.57

Jewelry 19.9 percent $166.08

Greeting cards 47.9 percent $17.81

An evening out 38.3 percent $87.25

Clothing 17.2 percent $87.37

Gift card 15.4 percent $81.20

Other 10.2 percent n/a

Source: National Retail Federation survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. Poll of 6,375 consumers

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Valentine's Day a good day for Macon retailers ."