Calgarians are spending this Valentine's Day, but not so much

You may not be able to appreciate true love, but for many people, there's a lot of pressure to make bold, expensive moves for Valentine's Day, and this year is no exception.

Buying groceries or gas for your loved one might not be the most romantic gesture, but that's okay.

As inflation affects Albertans in every way, some Calgarians are choosing to celebrate Valentine's Day differently this year.

Ruhi Ismail-Teja, with the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, expects a similar trend to that seen at Christmas – steady traffic but less spending than in years past.

“A lot of businesses are trying to lower the cost of each transaction because people are trying to control their spending, so a lot of people are being careful,” he said. “They will certainly come out and the impact on business will be quite significant.”

However, he said, Valentine's spending will have a big impact on the overall economy this year as well.

“Valentine's Day has about a $40 million impact on the Canadian economy, which is very important to our economy, and a lot of that is in things like florists, restaurants, jewelry stores, candy stores — they see a lot of growth this time of year. because of that,” Ismail-Teja explained.

He adds that business booms last more than a day for industries facing the most economic uncertainty.

“Since Valentine's Day is on a Wednesday, there is an opportunity for businesses to benefit from both sides of the weekend, and in some cases it helps businesses see higher traffic than just one day or one weekend. but two weekends,” he explained.