美國"情人節"現象:多人求婚帶動消費

Consumers will be digging deeper into their pockets to buy flowers, gift cards and chocolates on Valentine's Day with average spending expected to rise eight percent over last year to nearly $200.

情人節這天消費者將花更多錢用於購買鮮花、賀卡和巧克力，預計今年情人節的人均花費將接近200美元，比去年上漲8%。

And along with their expanding wallets 4 million Americans are expected to pop the question or receive a proposal on Feb 14.

隨着錢包漸漸鼓起來，四百萬美國人將在2月14日求婚或者接受求婚。

"We've seen a consistent trend of consumers saying they will spend More, from holiday shopping to 2012 travel plans, and spending plans for Feb 14 are no exception," said Sonali Chakravorti, vice president at American Express.

美國運通副總裁索娜麗•查克拉沃提說：“我們看到消費者一致傾向於更多消費，無論是假日購物還是2012旅遊計劃，2月14日的消費計劃也不例外。”

In its latest spending and savings tracker American Express questioned 2,000 adults across the United States to gauge how much and on what consumers will be spending their money on Cupid's big day.

美國運通公司通過它最新的消費和儲蓄追蹤系統對美國各地2000名成人進行了調查，以此估測在丘比特的大日子裏，消費者會在何種物品上消費多少錢。

Nearly half of people said they intend to celebrate at a favorite restaurant, seven percent more than last year. Flowers are still the most popular gift for a Valentine, followed by gift cards, jewelry and electronics.

近一半的人稱他們打算去最喜愛的餐館慶祝，該比例相對去年上升了7%。鮮花依然是情人節最受歡迎的禮物，其次是賀卡、珠寶和電子產品。

Among couples getting betrothed, 30 percent said they would propose during a weekend getaway or vacation, which have been dubbed engagementcations.

那些準備訂婚的情侶有30%稱他們會在被譽爲“訂婚假日”的情人節週末或情人節假期求婚。

To seal the deal, 48 percent of people think an engagement ring costing between $1,000 to $5,000 would be appropriate but 22 percent said up to $2,000 for bling would be more realistic, while five percent thought nothing of spending $10,000 or more on a ring.

要達成婚約，48%的人認爲一千到五千美元的訂婚戒指是合適的，但是22%的人認爲花兩千美元買戒指將更爲現實，5%的人認爲就算花費上萬美元買個戒指也沒有什麼。

Although nearly 40 percent of women think whoever asked for the date should pay for it, 14 percent said the bill should be split, but most unmarried men said they would cover the cost of the date.

近40%的女性認爲約會邀請者應該買單，14%的女性卻認爲費用應該平攤。不過大多數未婚男性稱他們會爲約會買單。

Finances can be a delicate subject, so half of people don't talk about money until they have been together six months and 20 percent of married couples did not broach the subject until after they have tied the knot.

資產是一個敏感話題，所以半數人在一起的前六個月都不談錢，20%的已婚夫婦一直到結婚後纔會開始提及這個話題。

After marriage money matters can be a cause of disagreements, although the poll showed arguments over household budgets, spending on the children and everyday purchases have declined since last year.

結婚以後錢財問題可能會導致分歧，不過民意調查顯示，自去年來有關家庭預算、孩子花銷、日常開支的爭吵已有所減少。

More men than women take credit for paying credit cards, property and school taxes and for filing income taxes, according to the poll, but 70 percent of women said they managed the household budgets.

調查顯示，男性會更多地承擔償付信用卡、上繳財產稅和教育稅以及申報所得稅等責任，但也有70%的女性稱她們家裏的管賬人。