Virginia Tops Shopping App Ibotta's Valentine's Day Rankings for Most Romantic State

DENVER, Feb. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Virginia really is for lovers. That's according to Ibotta, the mobile shopping app whose users have earned more than $170 million in cash-back rebates on everyday purchases. Today, Ibotta released results from its first-ever Valentine's Day shopping data analysis, and found that Virginia is the most romantic state based on wine and chocolate sales.

An analysis of more than 4.6 million item-level receipts uploaded to the Ibotta app showed that Virginia experienced the biggest spikes in both wine and chocolate purchases, up 136 percent and 138 percent, respectively in the two weeks leading up to Valentine's Day 2016. North Carolina ranked second, up 125 percent in wine sales in the run-up to last year's holiday, and chocolate surged by 136 percent. Oklahoma, Connecticut and Maryland, rounded out the top five states for wine, while New Hampshire, Maine and Maryland ranked just below North Carolina for chocolate sales.

"We're always looking for trends that can help consumers save even more money," said Bryan Leach, founder and CEO of Ibotta. "In addition to providing cash-back offers on Valentine's Day staples like wine and chocolate in the app, we wanted to leverage our data to further empower our users and help them make smarter shopping decisions."

Wine Cheapest on Tuesdays, Chocolate Cheapest on Wednesdays
Ibotta's Valentine's Day analysis also revealed the cheapest days to buy wine and chocolate. An analysis of more than 100 million item-level receipts over the past three years found that Tuesday is the best day of the week to buy a bottle of wine ($12.89), when it is six percent cheaper than on the most expensive day, Saturday ($13.66). The average price of chocolate in stores drops to its lowest on Wednesdays ($2.55), which is more than 10 percent lower than on Mondays ($2.82). Valentine's Day this year falls on a Tuesday, which is good news for procrastinators who can grab the best-priced bottle of wine day-of.

Millennials Cynical About V-Day, Boomers Consider It Romantic    
In addition to the shopping data analysis, Ibotta surveyed more than 800 of its users across a wide range of demographics, and found that most baby boomers still view Valentine's Day as a romantic occasion, while millennials were more cynical about the holiday.

Fifty-one percent of baby boomers answered, "It's romantic," when asked to describe Valentine's Day, while only 37 percent of millennials surveyed had the same response. The largest contingent of both millennials (45 percent) and Generation Z (51 percent) said they feel Valentine's Day is "just another day created by card and candy companies," while more than half of all baby boomers say the holiday is inherently romantic. Nearly 75 percent of baby boomers, in addition to their views on the holiday itself, consider themselves to be romantic.

Ironically, while a majority of all respondents to the survey said they view themselves as romantic, more than half of them said their significant other isn't, especially those who are married with children.

Dating Couples Spend the Most on Valentine's Day
Ibotta wanted to know, what's the true cost of romance these days? Among those celebrating Valentine's Day, two times as many dating couples plan to spend $100 or more on gifts than married couples. Nearly 70 percent of dating couples would prefer an experience – such as dinner and a movie, or a trip – over a physical gift, while one-fourth of married couples want a gesture, such as a poem or alone time away from kids, over anything else.

Only 14 percent of all those surveyed said they agree to a budget with their significant other ahead of time in order to save money. And almost unanimously, respondents of all generations and relationship status say it is okay to buy a discounted gift or earn cash back when buying a Valentine's Day gift, although only 16 percent actually admitted to doing so. 

To learn more about Ibotta, visit www.ibotta.com.

About Ibotta
Headquartered in Denver, CO, Ibotta ("I bought a...") is transforming the shopping experience by making it easy for consumers to earn cash back on everyday purchases through a single smartphone app. The company partners with leading brands and retailers to offer rebates on groceries, electronics, clothing, gifts, home and office supplies, restaurant dining, and more. Ibotta is the premier destination for rewarded shopping on mobile, and has paid out more than $170 million in cash back to its users. Launched in 2012, Ibotta has nearly 19 million downloads, and is one of the most frequently used shopping apps in the United States. Smart shopping starts with Ibotta.

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SOURCE Ibotta