Rallying-up to the love month, a report by Mastercard indicates that Kenyans are still determined to fancy their loved ones with gifts despite the pandemic. A report detailed in Mastercard love index indicate that Kenyans spending on gifts for their loved ones has grown up 240 percent over the past ten years. Consequently, online shopping continues to remain the preferred mode of shopping, especially after the pandemic happened. A recent report from Mastercard has indicated that consumers in the country, now favor online shopping to traditional methods.
Owing to several social distancing guidelines put in place to curb the spread of the virus, home cooked meals, movie marathons alongside do it yourself (DIY) restaurant kits are expected to make-up a large portion of this year’s romantic experiences. The report which bases on February 14th-the perceived most romantic day in the whole calendar year has singled out sentimental shoppers not to be deterred by the effects of the current pandemic.
According to the report which analyzed card purchases across the globe days leading to or on valentine’s day, Kenyans spending on gifts and experiences are up 458 percent compared to ten years ago. Consequently, amount spend on outings as well as traditional items has increased over years, with flights now up by 327 percent and restaurants at 237 percent.
Online shopping has grown tremendously over the past decade to reach an all time high at 1225 percent increase for valentine’s related items. Additionally, contactless transactions have increased by 1100 percent by 2020 compared to the same period a year earlier.
According to Mastercard Vice President for Sub Saharan Africa Kari Tukur, the love index report has provided rich data on consumer shopping trends as well as behavior during valentine’s day celebration. Tukur further acknowledged how Kenyans are still determined to splurge on their loved ones despite the year 2020 being difficult in all corners.