Happy Valentine’s Day to All Couples, Singles, and Those Soon to Be Divorced

For some, the highly romanticized holiday of Valentine’s Day is warmly anticipated as a day to celebrate the love shared with their romantic partners, and for others (i.e. single people), it can be a dreaded day that reminds them just how alone they are. Whatever a person’s situation, Valentine’s Day has become associated with a number of consumerist tendencies. Money is spent on greeting cards, flowers, chocolates, jewelry, apparel, stuffed animals, fancy restaurant dinners, and more.

According to the Valentine’s Day Consumer Spending Survey published by the National Retail Federation (NRF), which has been tracking Valentine’s Day spending since 2010, it is anticipated that this year’s total U.S. spending for the occasion will be at a survey high, with a whopping $18.9 billion.

But there’s another thing people might be spending money on that is not listed in the NRF’s survey: getting divorced. It is no secret in the world of law that February is a very active month for divorce, a now consistent time of year for divorce rates to see a spike, particularly around the Valentine’s Day holiday. It is a phenomenon that has come to be known as the “Valentine’s Effect,” dubbed by Forbes and lawyers from LegalMatch, a San Francisco-based online legal attorney/client matching service.

Studies from legal referral website AttorneyFee.com have found that in February, divorce filings rise about 18% from the average month, and that divorce lawyer referrals are sought on average 38% more. Seattle-based legal website Avvo.com has discovered a 40% increase in people looking for information on divorce just after Valentine’s Day. The reasons behind this trend are speculated to have something to do with being just after the holiday season. Whether or not this is true, the correlation is there.

So, here’s something for all the single people on Valentine’s Day to feel better about. Perhaps you’re not in a relationship with someone who’s going to smother you with gifts come February 14th, but at least you’ll be saving yourself a pretty penny. The average spending per person for Valentine’s Day gifts this year is about $142. And the average cost of divorce? About $15,000.

In fact, there has been a rise in the anti-Valentine’s Day movement over the past several years from single people, non-single people, and even retailers specializing in anti-Valentine’s gifts. For those who maintain February 14th as a day simply for making greeting card companies rich, there is always Single’s Awareness Day on February 15th.

If you’re not planning on celebrating with a significant other (human, that is), you will not be alone. The NRF anticipates that $703 million will be spent on gifts for pets this Valentine’s Day.

Subscribe to news

Subscribe to our newsletter and be among the first ones to receive updates about latest developments, releases and other useful information that will help you get the most of our visuals.

Online Examples

See various ZoomCharts exmaples in our online examples gallery. Each of examples has sample source code exposed.

See ZoomCharts examples

ZoomCharts Pricing

ZoomCharts licensing is transparent and simple, yet widely configurable to fit your company's needs and budget.

See pricing

ZoomCharts JavaScript Charts: Best New Features of 2022

2022 was a big year for data visualization, and it was an even bigger year for ZoomCharts JavaScript Charts. We implemented many useful and much-requested features such as conditional formatting, new data aggregation options, and more. We’re even more excited to share the upcoming features that you can expect in 2023. Read all about them!

Dec 22, 2022

JavaScript Charts Conditional Formatting Net Chart WebGL
zoomcharts javascripts charts

Analyze your Google Sheets data with ZoomCharts Spreadsheet Analytics

ZoomCharts Spreadsheet Analytics is a tool that allows you to receive an instant interactive report out of your spreadsheet data just by browsing that... Read More

Jan 05, 2017

google sheets google spreadsheets spreadsheet analytics embed data
google sheets google spreadsheets spreadsheet analytics embed data

Turn your spreadsheets into interactive reports in seconds

We introduce Spreadsheet Analytics. That means there is a new way to visualize and explore your spreadsheet data. Spreadsheet Analytics is an application build... Read More

Nov 09, 2016

Spreadsheet Analytics ZoomCharts Apps Excel

Arrange a Meeting with ZoomCharts at Collision in New Orleans

We are excited to be exhibiting at Collision tech conference in New Orleans on April 26-28. Attending this top-notch event? Pre-arrange a meeting with... Read More

Apr 14, 2016

collision tech conference
data visualization data visualisation collision conference tech conference data visualization conference big data html5 charts and graphs javascript graphs and charts html5 charts and graph library html5 charts html5 graphs javascript graphs javascript charts chart library graph library interactive charts interactive graphs

Meet Us at Data Visualization Summit in San Francisco

Hello the West Coast, we are coming! Happy to exhibit at Data Visualization Summit in San Francisco on April 21-22. Want to meet us there and get an exclusive... Read More

Apr 14, 2016

data visualization summit conference
data visualization data visualisation data visualization summit data visualization summit san francisco conference tech conference data visualization conference big data html5 charts and graphs javascript graphs and charts html5 charts and graph library html5 charts html5 graphs javascript graphs javascript charts chart library graph library interactive charts interactive graphs

Case Study: Meemim Uses NetChart to Build an Enterprise Collaboration Platform

Canadian start-up Meemim believes that visualization and social networking can lead to better knowledge management. Meemim’s CEO Alexandre Pestov tells us... Read More

Mar 29, 2016

data visualization netchart case study
data visualization data visualisation big data html5 charts and graphs javascript graphs and charts html5 charts and graph library html5 charts html5 graphs javascript graphs javascript charts chart library graph library interactive charts interactive graphs case study data visualization case study NetChart net chart meemim