Much ado has been made of Greek lovers, however they did not rise to the occasion on Valentine’s Day. The feast may have been enthusiastically celebrated around the world, but Greek lovers were left feeling indifferent.

Marketing Lab’s (MarLab) study from the University of Macedonia found that most Greeks did not do anything special on February 14 as far as their consumption was concerned.

Greeks spent an average of 31.68 euros (a drop from 43.6 euros in 2018) on V-day with spending ranging from a cheap 1.80 euros all the way to 650 euros.

Only a quarter of respondents (25 per cent) admitted to buying presents for their loved ones, however 35 per cent stated that they had received gifts.

Those that did buy gifts gave them to their partners (67 per cent), spouses (12 per cent) and friends (5.5 per cent). The remaining 15.5 per cent offered gifts to their parents, children, colleagues and others.

Gifts received were from partners (61 per cent), friends (11 per cent), spouses (13 per cent) and the remainder of gifts were from parents, children, relatives, colleagues etc (15 per cent).

Gifts were mainly confectionary (44 per cent), whereas flowers (21 per cent), accessories (18 per cent), clothing and lingerie (14 per cent) and cosmetics (3 per cent) were also offered.

Here’s what Greeks did on Valentine’s Day:

  • 42 per cent said it was like any other day
  • 25 per cent said they did nothing because they don’t believe in it
  • 8 per cent had a romantic dinner date out of their home
  • 7.7 per cent went out with friends
  • 7 per cent had a romantic dinner at home
  • 5.7 per cent said they were alone

The 75 per cent that did not buy a gift for a loved one, gave the following reasons for not doing so:

  • “I did not want to contribute to the commercialisation of love.”
  • “At this stage, neither my partner nor myself are financially able to buy a gift.”
  • “I don’t believe it is a special day. If I want to buy a gift I can do so at any other time.”
  • “I don’t believe in this celebration.”

The study found that 60.3 per cent of Greeks are indifferent to Valentine’s Day. Only 21.8 per cent had a positive viewpoint of the celebration and 17.9 per cent had a negative viewpoint of Valentine’s Day.

There was no difference in responses according to the age levels of the survey’s participants, gender or educational achievements. Those who were in a relationship were more likely to favour the celebration 32 per cent), those who were married also showed approval (23.7 per cent), compared to those who were divorced (6.7 per cent).

41 per cent of respondents were unmarried but in a relationship, 26 per cent were single, 24 per cent were married and 5 per cent were divorce.