No one really knows the real origin of Valentine’s Day. Two of the popular derivations are that of a Roman fertility festival, and the commemoration of the death of St. Valentine, a Roman clergyman who was executed on 14th of February, 270 AD for marrying couples without the authoritative order of the emperor. But regardless of where it came from, Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest seasons where gifts and love are in the air.

Love is an intangible experience, expressed on Valentine’s Day with the very tangible hoard of gifts, cards and romantic dinners.  But what are we really spending on this holiday of the hearts?  Here’s a break down of Valentine’s Day in numbers.

Spending on love

In the US, consumers are expected to shell out an average of $126.03 on traditional merchandise, up $8.5 percent from last year’s $116.21.  This also marks the highest average in the NRF Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey’s 10-year history, says BIGinsight.  All in all, expenditures are expected to increase by 12 percent, from $17.6 billion to 15.7 billion the previous year.

Tablets are romantic

Tablets play a major role during V-day. More than half of tablets users will use their devices to research products and compares prices ($31.8 percent), redeem coupons ($11.8 percent), look up retailer information (19.8 percent), or purchase products (19.3 percent). The 41.4 percent remaining will use smartphones to do the same thing. In addition, an Adobe Systems’ January 2012 study reveals that tablet visitors to the analyzed sample of more than 150 US retailers spent $123 per purchase on average in 2011, which is 54 percent more than smartphone users who spent $80, and 21 percent more than laptop and desktop users who spent $102.

It’s in the cards (and the flowers)

Moreover, Squidoo says there are 180 million Valentine’s Day card exchanged annually, making it the second biggest greeting-card-giving occasions. About 50 percent of V-day cards are purchased 6 days before the actual date. Of fresh flower purchases only, Valentine’s Day ranks No. 1, capturing 36% of holiday transactions and 40% of holiday dollar volume, making it the No. 1 holiday for florists, says aboutflowers.com.

Age-wise, there are about 120 single men for every 100 single women for people in their 20s, while there are only 33 men for every 100 single women for those ages 65 and older. There are about 904 million dating service establishment all over US since 2002, and there were around 2.16 million marriages that took place in the US in 2008, which can be broken down to 6,000 a day.

Eating out? Shelling out.

Moving on to dining statistics, Zagat says 44 percent plans to eat out, while only 35 percent will celebrate at home with their loved one. Those who are spending for a romantic meal are expected to shell out $147, up by $86.92 from average cost of $43.46 on a normal day. Also, V-day diners don’t worry so much about white tablecloths and sparkly candles, with only 29 percent of the surveyors who said this setting draws them in, compared to the 48 percent who places a reservation based on the food and menu. Lovers are also procrastinators, with 47 percent of them saying they haven’t decided where to eat yet when they only had few days before the event. On the other hand, 17 percent of them made reservations a month in advance.