Valentine's lingerie and chocolates help high street sales soar

Britons are spending more this Valentine's Day on sexy knickers, pink cupcakes and cheesy cards than last year, according to two retail and manufacturing giants today.

High street barometer John Lewis said that huge sales of lingerie helped its Valentine's-themed goods sell 67% more in the week to 6 February, pushing overall sales at the department store group 32% higher than the same time last year.

Sister supermarket Waitrose said demand for Valentine's cupcakes was up 54% this year, and that chocolate hearts were selling at 47% higher. It helped drive total sales at Waitrose up 9% compared to the same period last year.

One of the UK's biggest card-makers, International Greetings, confirmed that Valentine's sales were booming. The firm — which makes 100 million cards a year — said its pink gift bags and mugs and heart-shaped photo frames were selling particularly well.

Chief executive Paul Fineman said: "Valentine's Day sales this year look to be much stronger. We've particularly noticed soaring demand from pound and dollar stores in the UK, US and Australia."

International Greetings also said it was in "embryonic stages" of launching an e-card offering and that trading was in line with expectations.