COVID-19 fear shackles Cupid, more than half to stay at home: Survey

The COVID 19 virus has played spoilsport and curtailed celebrations even on Valentine’s Day. A survey by Jeevansathi.com has revealed that more than half of the respondents would like to stay home and organise a virtual romantic date.

Despite pundits pointing to some green shoots in the economy, rising spending and a budget that seem to hold endless cheer for the markets, a large share of the people are rather shy of stepping outdoors to celebrate the day.

The survey was carried out among 1,000 unmarried respondents in the second week of February. While 58% respondents were from the metro cities, 42% were from non-metros.

As many as 45% of those surveyed said they planned to celebrate the day with their friends or family.

About 15% said they wanted to go out but preferred to stay at home.

Only 13% of those surveyed felt it is “absolutely safe” to go out. Of these bravehearts, 40% felt that the best way to celebrate if to visit a fancy restaurant which observed distancing protocols.

About 14% wanted to go out on long drives and staycations to avoid exposures.

Of those who plan to stay indoors, 43% said they would meet their partners on video calls. While 42% would send their partner a Valentine’s Day gift, the rest 12% would spend time together at home.

Moreover, 21% of the women said that they preferred to be their own Valentine. Only 9% among men said they loved themselves.

The survey also found that 53% of the male respondents said they would like to get gifts such as cards, flowers, accessories because it would remind them of their other half. The share of women expressing the same feeling was only 31%.

The next best option to gift men is experiences such as spa and vacation as confirmed by 36% of the male respondents. The survey found women to be almost equally divided between experiential options (27%) and e-gifts such as vouchers and subscriptions since these were safe.