Online Valentine’s Day purchases are up 321% since 2011, and in the case of some Latin American countries, that growth has been up to four digits over the past decade, according to a global study by Mastercard.
The so-called “sentimental spending”, which includes purchases of jewelry, flowers and restaurants, rose 92% in the case of online transactions in the last decade around February 14, according to the “Index of Love of Mastercard” survey. (“Mastercard Love Index”).
The payment method company’s annual survey in 19 countries around the world shows that Internet transactions in Latin America have also grown significantly as of this date, with Colombia leading the way, growing by 4,207% over the past decade; followed by Chile with 3277% and Mexico with 628%.
In the case of sentimental spending, Argentina registered a growth of 1961%, while it was 1124% in Chile and 460% in Colombia.
“These numbers show a spike in gift purchases and experiences compared to 10 years ago,” including traditional items and outings such as flowers and restaurants, emphasizes a press release.
In Chile, there was a 25,333% increase in card transactions for the purchase of flowers, followed by Argentina (2,436%) and Colombia (776%), according to the study, which reveals that only last year was more than $ 200 million spent worldwide on flower bouquets.
“In the case of restaurants, Chile leads with an increase of 8,531%, followed by Argentina (1,299%) and Colombia (910%),” the report said.
In terms of the cost of jewelry over the Internet, there has also been an annual growth over the past decade, with a global increase of 20% since 2011, but in the Latin American region, it was Chile that led the transactions for these purchases. with a growth of 5504%, followed by Argentina (408%) and Brazil (325%).