Canonical URL: https://giftcard.news/research-trends/mastercard-love-index-found-experience-gifts-outpacing-traditional-prese-b4e41b511215/ --- description: The study compared Valentine's-period card spending in 53 territories between 2017 and 2019. title: Mastercard Love Index tracks experience-gift spending growth in 2017–2019 image: https://giftcard.news/images/social/v1/mastercard-love-index-tracks-experience-gift-spending-growth-2017-2019-4949da8b8a5fe34099aeb476dba05bc6.jpg --- 1. [Home](https://giftcard.news/) 2. [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) 3. Mastercard Love Index tracks experience-gift spending growth in 2017–2019 [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) News # Mastercard Love Index tracks experience-gift spending growth in 2017–2019 The study compared Valentine's-period card spending in 53 territories between 2017 and 2019. By [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) Published: February 12, 2020 at 12:00 AM 1 min read Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fmastercard-love-index-found-experience-gifts-outpacing-traditional-prese-b4e41b511215%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Mastercard%20Love%20Index%20tracks%20experience-gift%20spending%20growth%20in%202017%E2%80%932019 "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fmastercard-love-index-found-experience-gifts-outpacing-traditional-prese-b4e41b511215%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Mastercard%20Love%20Index%20tracks%20experience-gift%20spending%20growth%20in%202017%E2%80%932019%20https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fmastercard-love-index-found-experience-gifts-outpacing-traditional-prese-b4e41b511215%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "WhatsApp") ![Mastercard Love Index 2020 infographic](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/mastercard-love-index-tracks-experience-gift-spending-growth-2017-2019-2020-infographic-w1280.webp) Photo: Source: newsroom.mastercard.com [Mastercard](https://giftcard.news/company/mastercard/)'s Love Index, published on February 12, 2020, reported a 17% rise in Valentine's-period spending across the study's three-year comparison. It analyzed credit, debit and prepaid card transactions in 53 territories during February 11–14 in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Experience-related spending grew faster than several traditional gift categories. Hotel bookings increased 22% and flights 13%, while spending on flowers rose 3% and jewelry 6%. Mastercard linked the pattern to consumers choosing shared activities over physical presents. The report also recorded a 57% increase in online transactions during the measured Valentine's periods. Among offline purchases, the share involving contactless payments rose 175%, illustrating changes in how shoppers completed their gift and experience purchases. Buying also moved earlier in the period: the busiest day was February 11 in 2019, compared with February 12 in 2018 and February 13 in 2017\. The figures describe those historical dates and should not be read as results for Valentine's Day 2020. ## Sources and documents ExpandCollapse * [Mastercard Love Index found experience gifts outpacing traditional presents](https://newsroom.mastercard.com/news/europe/en/newsroom/press-releases/en/2020/february/growth-of-the-love-economy-valentine-s-day-spend-up-17-in-three-years/?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news) — newsroom.mastercard.com ## In this article ### Companies * [Mastercard](https://giftcard.news/company/mastercard/) Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fmastercard-love-index-found-experience-gifts-outpacing-traditional-prese-b4e41b511215%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Mastercard%20Love%20Index%20tracks%20experience-gift%20spending%20growth%20in%202017%E2%80%932019 "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fmastercard-love-index-found-experience-gifts-outpacing-traditional-prese-b4e41b511215%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Mastercard%20Love%20Index%20tracks%20experience-gift%20spending%20growth%20in%202017%E2%80%932019%20https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fmastercard-love-index-found-experience-gifts-outpacing-traditional-prese-b4e41b511215%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "WhatsApp") ![Portrait of Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/oliver-reed-editorial-portrait-w320.webp) About the author ## [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) Journalist — Industry Deals & Research Oliver Reed covers industry acquisitions, investment and market research for Gift Card News. From reading to building ## Your next move in gift cards. Tell us what you’re building. We’ll help you explore suitable providers. [Find a provider ](https://giftcard.news/find-a-provider/) ## Related articles [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis ### [AI Can Shop for You. Can It Spend Your Gift Cards?](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/ai-can-shop-for-you-can-it-spend-your-gift-cards/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 17 min [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis ### [Gift Card Fraud in the United States](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/gift-card-fraud-in-the-united-states/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 66 min [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis ### [Can You Cash Out Your Gift Card? 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