Valentine’s Day sales are predicted to be bigger than ever in 2018, with shoppers expected to spend £650m on products and gifts this 14 February – up 5% on last year, figures from Mintel suggest.

Food and drink consumed at home will once again top the list of products that Brits spend the most on for Valentine’s Day.

In 2017 Valentine’s Day grocery sales hit £128m, with a further £102m spent on flowers, £53m on confectionery and chocolates plus £53m on greetings cards.

Retailers who offer shoppers the chance to personalise gifts and confectionery stand to win particularly big this year, Mintel said.

Six out of ten Valentine’s Day shoppers think retailers should offer more options to personalise gifts.

Mintel retail analyst Samantha Dover said: “Valentine’s Day is now the biggest spending retail event in the first half of the year, overtaking Easter by a significant amount.

“This year we expect shoppers to trade up as retailers continue to increase their Valentine’s Day ranges with both premium and personalised gift options, and tapping into consumer demand for quality gifts.”

Meanwhile, a new survey of 1,000 shoppers by Savvy also revealed that 42% of people planned to buy a Valentine’s Day card from a shop this year while 33% planned to buy flowers. Just under 30% of people are planning to cook romantic meals at home.

The Co-operative Group is offering Valentine’s shoppers a £6 Dinnertime Meal Deal including two Ranch Steaks, Irresistible Chips and Melt in Middle Chocolate Puddings.

Nisa meanwhile is offering a £10 Meal Deal for two including two Heritage Sirloin Steaks, McCain Gourmet Chips and a choice of Gü deserts.

Budgens is also offering special offers on key Valentine’s Day products including two Rump Steaks for £6, half price Gü deserts and a bottle of Prosecco and 200g box of Lindor for £10.

Tesco meanwhile is offering a £20 Valentine’s Meal Deal including two mains, two sides, one desert and wine or chocolates.

Premium chocolate brand Love Cocoa has also announced that it is to partner up with Deliveroo in advance of Valentine’s Day – enabling shoppers to order chocolate treats and gifts to their door within 20 minutes.

James Cadbury, founder of Love Cocoa said: “We want to take the stress out of Valentine’s shopping, and moving forward provide a service to anyone with a craving or looking for a last minute chocolate gift.

“Popping down to your local newsagent to pick up a bar of chocolate will soon be a thing of the past for Londoners,” he added.

Figures released today by retail and shopper marketing agency Savvy show that 40% of shoppers are planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, with 56% of shoppers are planning to buy presents online.

Around 55% of shoppers also admitted they typically plan what they are going to buy for Valentine’s Day, while 39% of shoppers said they expected to spend more in 2018 than last year.