Less is More for U.S. Couples When Buying Valentine’s Day Gifts

People are planning to shop for deals when buying for loved ones this Valentine’s Day. According to PayPal’s fourth annual “Can’t Buy Me Love” survey, nearly half of shoppers plan to spend less than $50 this Valentine’s Day, compared to 2008, when 75 percent of shoppers planned to spend more than $50 on gifts.

Saving money is a priority for shoppers in 2010. Forty-two percent of couples surveyed say their partner spends too much money year-round. To help cash-strapped couples, PayPal and Bill Me Later today announced great deals and special offers on Valentine’s Day gifts for couples and singles. Shoppers can receive up to 25 percent off purchases from major retailers, including RedEnvelope, Zales.com and ProFlowers by visiting paypal.com/shopping.

“Couples are committed to saving money this year but the good news is that there are plenty of great gifts at great prices out there,” said Hillary Mendelsohn, online shopping expert and PayPal spokesperson. “Invest some thoughtfulness and take advantage of great online deals – it’s the easiest way to feel the love without breaking hearts or the bank.”

According to the survey, money continues to be the leading cause of arguments among couples, more than in-laws, sex and work. The 2009 survey found that 27 percent of people have experienced some sort of significant financial change in the last year, causing more frequent arguments related to money.

Valentine’s Day Gifts through PayPal and Bill Me Later

Beginning January 28 through February 14, PayPal and Bill Me Later members can take advantage of discounts from top retailers. Sample deals include:

• 20 percent off and a free vase at ProFlowers
• 25 percent off on gifts at RedEnvelope
• $50 off purchases of $300 or more at Zales.com
• 10 percent off at Blue Nile
• 20 percent off of a 6-month subscription from eHarmony
• Up to 55 percent off retail rates from Hotwire

For more information about the 2010 PayPal Valentine’s Day promotions and to see a full list of participating merchants, visit paypal.com/shopping.

For a complete list of Valentine’s Day deals from Bill Me Later please visit shopping.billmelater.com or follow @ShopBillMeLater on Twitter.

Find the “PayPal ValenTypes” for Cash Prizes and Giveaways

On February 13, PayPal is hosting a virtual scavenger hunt on Twitter and rewarding participants with incredible giveaways including netbooks, diamond necklaces and a year of free flowers from ProFlowers. Shoppers who follow @PayPalShopping will receive tweeted clues to secret locations in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. At those locations, the PayPal ValenTypes will be rewarding the lucky Twitter super-sleuths with big prizes from select merchants.

Click here to follow @PayPalShopping on Twitter.

Survey Findings

PayPal’s fourth annual “Can’t Buy Me Love” survey, conducted by Ipsos, examined how personal finance issues affect couples and singles in the U.S. The survey found:

• Money is the number one cause of arguments among U.S. couples (37%). It beat out household chores (24%), in-laws (15%) and sex (13%).
• A quarter (27%) of respondent families experienced significant financial change in the last year. Of these couples, at least one partner had to take on an additional job, or the primary breadwinner had to change jobs.
• Only a quarter (22%) of couples surveyed maintain completely separate bank accounts, compared to almost half in 2008 (46%).
• This year, twice as many respondents said that they want their own bank accounts so that they could have their own spending money. (47% of respondents in 2009 compared to 20% in 2008)
• Two-thirds (65%) of singles would not want to date someone with significant debt.
• Most people (79%) have given cash as a gift to a loved one, so that the recipient can purchase what they want.

About the Survey

The PayPal "Can't Buy Me Love" Survey was conducted by Ipsos from December 11, 2009, to December 18, 2009, via email invitation to online panelists. The total sample size was 1,000 adults in the United States.

About PayPal

PayPal is the faster, safer way to pay and get paid online. The service allows members to send money without sharing financial information, with the flexibility to pay using their account balances, bank accounts, credit cards or promotional financing. With more than 81 million active accounts in 190 markets and 24 currencies around the world, PayPal enables global ecommerce. PayPal is an eBay (Nasdaq:EBAY) company and is made up of three leading online payment services: the PayPal global payment service, the Payflow Gateway and Bill Me Later. The company's open payment platform, PayPal X, allows developers to build innovative payment applications on multiple platforms and devices. More information about the company can be found at https://www.paypal.com.

About Hillary Mendelsohn

Hillary Mendelsohn is founder and president of thepurplebook: The Definitive Guide to Exceptional Online Shopping, which publishes annual resource guides for online shopping. The fourth edition is currently available in bookstores nationwide and is published by Hachette/Time Warner Book Group. In April of 2006, thepurplebook Baby, the first of the specialty books covering maternity through toddler shopping online, made its arrival. The next specialty editions of thepurplebook were released in January ’08 and are entitled thepurplebook Wedding and thepurplebook Green (an eco-friendly online shopping guide). In addition, Mendelsohn launched a corporate consulting division of the business, which covers everything from white papers, Web site development for retailers, outsourcing service solution providers, investment companies, and venture capital firms. Specializing in end-to-end consumer experience, her clients include Office Depot, Newgistics, I4Commerce (BillMeLater), Chase Paymentech, Shopzilla, and Shopping.com, in addition to other e-commerce related technology and retail.