Valentine’s Day spending attracts business in Springfield

After a record-setting year for Valentine’s Day spending in 2016, spending may drop in 2017, according to the annual survey released by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics

According to the National Retail Federation, spending for Valentine’s Day is estimated to reach $18.2 billion nationally, which is down from $19.7 billion last year.

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Nearly 50 percent of Valentine’s Day patrons will spend their money on candy, which is expected to bring in $1.7 billion in sales nationwide.

“Valentine’s Day continues to be a popular gift-giving occasion, even if consumers are being more frugal this year,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

With higher trends in spending going toward candy, that’s a positive for Winans Chocolates & Candies in downtown Springfield.

Winans has been prepping for one of its busiest days of the year.

“We anticipate an influx of business all day,” said Chandi Shah, co-owner of Winans.

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Preparations began last month with pre-orders for their chocolate-covered strawberries and will continue all day with custom-made orders, Shah said.

This process ensures each customer’s order will be as fresh as possible.

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