Americans are opening their wallets to celebrate romance — and a lot of them are looking for experiences.
According to the National Retail Federation, people are expected to spend $23.9 billion this Valentine's Day. While candy, greeting cards, and flowers make the top three most popular gifts, experiences are growing in popularity. This year, 31 percent of respondents said they plan on gifting an activity, whether that's dinner out or tickets to see a show. It's up from just 24 percent in 2021.
"We've had a rough two years," said Junior's Restaurant owner Alan Rosen. "People are itching to get out, enjoy themselves. They want experiences. They want to go to famous restaurants. They want to go to places and travel, and, of course, have some great cheesecake with their loved ones."
The diner chain, famous for its cheesecake, is celebrating the holiday by offering vow renewals and weddings at its flagship location in Brooklyn, N.Y. Rosen even got ordained in order to facilitate the ceremonies. Three lucky couples who had Junior's-related love stories were gifted a New York City honeymoon, where they received tickets to a Broadway show, a hotel stay in the Big Apple, and other treats including Junior's cheesecake for life.
"Just in this recent weekend with the mask mandate being lifted, I think people felt a little bit overjoyed," Rosen said about business bounding back. "Obviously, Valentine's Day is a great time to celebrate."
While data privacy still remains one of TikTok's biggest challenges, it may face a larger problem in order to stay in the United States: content moderation.
The Week's Top Stories is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
Governor Spencer Cox signed two measures restricting how easily children in the state can access platforms like TikTok and Twitter, setting the precedent in the U.S.
Freada Kapor Klein, founder of Level Playing Field Institute, joined Cheddar News to provide some insight into the ongoing inequitable treatment of women in the world of finance.
Activision Blizzard on Thursday released its first annual report on diversity and inclusion, and the results showed that the company has a long way to go before hitting its goals.
As other parts of the economy are roiled by crisis, gas prices are holding steady. The national average price for gasoline fell four cents to $3.43 per gallon last week, according to AAA's weekly survey.
Hyundai and Kia are telling the owners of more than 571,000 SUVs and minivans in the U.S. to park them outdoors because the tow hitch harnesses can catch fire while they are parked or being driven.
