The number of British consumers who bought their significant other or object of affection a present for Valentine’s Day in 2015 was so high, that only the Christmas Holidays generate more gift-giving action, according to a report published this month by eGifter.

Thirty nine per cent of respondents to the study said that they would be purchasing a Valentine’s Day gift, perhaps suggesting that traditional items, like cards, chocolates and flowers, are being overtaken by the rate with which the day is becoming another excuse for a retail spree via safe shopping online.

The study looked at how different people treat Valentine’s Day, finding that less than a third of those living in countryside regions will be indulging in gift-giving, while this is much higher for people living in urban areas.

Forty eight per cent of those questioned about their gift buying habits said that they primarily shop online to make purchases, either from a desktop computer or a mobile device.

The rise of Valentine’s Day as another major point on the retail calendar is perhaps symptomatic of the wider way in which consumer habits are changing and being shaped by e-commerce sites.

Because the internet gives people the opportunity to shop from any location and at any time, it is much easier to make a purchase on a whim and pick something up for a loved one for February 14th, without having to make a last minute dash to the shops.

The same trend is altering the way people carry out Christmas shopping, with sales concentrated in the run-up to December 25th and further fuelled by Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions.

It will be interesting to see whether other big holiday periods throughout the year, such as Easter, are similarly impacted.