KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — Malaysian consumers are planning to spend close to RM700 on average on Valentine’s Day, according to the MasterCard’s Consumer Purchasing Priorities Survey.

In a statement, MasterCard said about 62 per cent of Malaysians planned on marking the day of love by going out for a special meal, while 63 per cent would treat their loved ones to gifts.

"Flowers are also the preferred choice for Malaysian consumers (27 per cent), followed by jewellery (23 per cent), as well as, clothes and leather goods (22 per cent),” it said.

Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, consumers planned to spend on average US$133 (RM592) as Valentine’s Day gifts with China leading the pack at US$310, followed by Hong Kong (US$282) and Taiwan (US$271).

The data for the Asia-Pacific was based on Consumer Purchasing Priorities for the first half of 2017, whereby 9,123 people in 18 markets across the region aged between 18 and 64 were asked about their spending plans for Valentine’s Day 2017.

Although flowers reigned as the gift of choice, according to the second annual global MasterCard Love Index, its popularity might not last next year.

The index revealed that sales of flowers were wilting in the Asia-Pacific, having seen a 34 per cent decrease in transactions between 2014 and 2016.

The MasterCard Love Index was created by analysing credit, debit and prepaid card transactions over a three-year period. — Bernama