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Chocolate in all its delicious forms is often the centerpiece of Valentine's Day gift-giving, and with 57% of consumers stating they'll buy candy for their sweetheart, local shops are ready.
According to the annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, total spending for the holiday is expected to reach $14.2 billion -- or an average of $185.91 per shopper.
Unique to the holiday this year is that it falls on Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten season.
"Ash Wednesday is traditionally a day for fasting in the Catholic faith and falling in the middle of the week makes it a guessing game when people will want to celebrate the holiday," said Marcia Cumming, owner of MarCia's Chocolates, Altoona.
"To accommodate everyone, we are offering chocolate covered strawberries the weekend before, the week of and the weekend after Valentine's Day," she said.
Last year, Valentine's Day sales made up 20% of the business's sales for the year, Cumming said.
"I'm not sure what to expect this year, but we are cautiously optimistic," she said. "We started receiving pre-sale orders even earlier than years' past so we are hoping that means it will be a busy season."
Bedford Candies is expecting sales to be strong again this year, said owner Adam Wiley.
"With Feb. 14 being on a Wednesday, we are expecting to see the holiday celebrated over several days," he said.
Wiley said chocolate covered fresh fruit is popular, with the company offering strawberries, blueberries, red raspberries and blackberries -- available to be coated in milk, white or dark chocolate.
Customers were urged to pre-order online so they would plan accordingly and buy enough fresh produce to fulfill all the orders, he said. Other popular items are chocolate filled heart-shaped boxes, candy-filled mugs and gourmet popcorn, to name a few.
"Chocolate covered strawberries are always a big item for Valentine's Day," said Jerry Moore, owner of Dutch Hill Chocolates, Altoona. "But not far behind is our heart shaped boxes filled with other customer favorites like peanut butter meltaways and sea salt caramels.".
"Those who may not be able to do dinner during the weekdays will often buy chocolate to still celebrate the holiday," he said.
Joe DeStadio, president of Tyrone-based Gardners Candies, calls Valentine's Day a procrastinator's holiday, with shoppers buying at the last minute.
"We are expecting pretty good sales this year," DeStadio said, noting the business has been taking preorders for chocolate covered strawberries, a treat they offer only at Valentine's Day.
Other customer favorites are heart shaped boxes of peanut butter meltaways and assorted chocolates packed in heart shaped boxes.
"A lot of people do a customized heart," he said.
Jewelry sales expected to be up
While candy is the top gift for Valentine's Day, 22% of shoppers are expected to spend $6.4 billion on jewelry, according to the survey.
"Sales have been extraordinarily strong in the past few years and we expect this to continue," said President Michael Kranich Jr., of Kranich's Jewelers, Altoona, Johnstown and State College.
Kranich said engagement rings are a major draw.
"Since we focus on engagement rings we know that the Valentine's season will be strong," Kranich said.
Valentine's Day leads to a good week of business for Dorman Jewelers, Altoona, said owner Mike Dorman.
"We sell a lot of gifts in the $49 to $200 range but we also have some big spenders," he said. "We have gifts to fit everyone's budget from modest to low price range."
Valentine's Day is not a drawn out holiday like Christmas, he said, noting sales don't typically pick up until Feb. 8-9, and it depends on what day the holliday falls.
"Being on a Wednesday is pretty solid for us," he said.
Popular this year are lab grown diamonds, Dorman said, because they are less expensive.
"You get two or three times the diamond for the price," he said.
Flowers, dining out always popular
Flower sales are also expected to set a record with $2.6 billion in sales, according to the survey.
"This year should be exceptional for the flower industry. Falling on a Wednesday, we will have tons of orders for delivery -- mostly to businesses. However, people will choose to celebrate the holiday the weekend before and after the fourteenth, which should help spread out and increase our sales," said President Andrea Hammel of Peterman's Flower Shop Inc., Juniata.
"This holiday is important because we have the opportunity to serve people who don't normally order flowers. It's a great way for us to make new customers," she said.
The survey said consumers will spend $4.9 billion on an evening out, which is good news for Altoona's two fine dining restaurants, Finelli's Italian Village and The Allegro Restaurant.
"Valentine's Day on a Wednesday should be great for us. People may come the Friday and Saturday before or the Friday and Saturday after," owner Frank Finelli said.
"We have two weekends around Ash Wednesday. We will be busy Tuesday and Thursday and the Saturday before and after. That may make it easier because it will be spread out," said Allegro owner Dan Taddei.
Neither are certain whether Valentine's Day falling on Ash Wednesday will have much of an impact.
"Ash Wednesday may have an impact but we will have a nice fish feature," Finelli said.
"Some people may not go out because they are not supposed to eat meat. We have a lot of seafood items on our menu, at least eight to ten different items. We will probably have about the same amount of diners, just spread out more" Taddei said. "Valentine's Day comes at a good time after a slow month of January, it gives us a good week for lovers."