Romantic Brits are real big spenders
Britons typically spend £129 on going on a date – more than twice as much as their counterparts in countries such as France and Italy, research has found.
The average amount, which is the total spent by both people going on the date, covers costs such as transport, clothes, cosmetics, entertainment and food and drink.
The study, compiled by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) for dating website Match, calculates that dating now contributes £5.89bn per year to the UK economy.
Entertainment, restaurants, pubs and bars take up nearly half (48%) of Britons’ dating-related spend, with around £2.8bn spent in this category alone in the UK during 2016, according to the findings.
The research surveyed more than 9,600 people across several countries, including 1,750 in the UK.
It found that an average date in France or Germany costs both daters a total of £46, while a date in Italy costs £47 typically and a date in Spain costs £55.
The research suggests that Britons spend more on transport to and from their date than people in the other European countries in the study.
Around 9% of UK date-related spending was invested on travelling to and from a date, compared with an average across the other countries surveyed of just 3%.
The research also found evidence of a growing trend towards people in the UK having dates at home rather than going out.
The increase has perhaps been fuelled by the rise of digital entertainment subscription services and online takeaway ordering, it suggested.
Cebr calculated the total spent on eating in during a date across the UK has increased by £153m over the past year.
Abbie Oguntade, marketing director and vice-president, Northern European Hub, at Match, said it is interesting to see that the rise of online takeaway and subscription services could “be playing a part in changing the way that we date”.
Here is the average cost of a date per country for both people on the date, according to the research from Match: UK – £129 France – £46 Germany – £46 Italy – £47 Netherlands – £52 Spain – £55 Sweden – £41
And here is how the average cost of a date in the UK, at £129.30, adds up, according to the research: Transport – £11.50 Entertainment (restaurants, bars and pubs) – £61.50 Gifts – £7.20 Trips to hairdressers – £6.50 Cosmetics – £6.20 Contraceptives – £4.70 Eating in – £8.20 Clothes – £23.50