On Valentine's Day, credit union consumers were apparently in the mood for love, as merchants saw a 19% increase in dollars spent compared to last year, according to CO-OP Financial Services in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

“Valentine's Day this year happened to fall on the Friday before the three-day President's Day weekend, which perhaps fueled additional spending on what is normally a busy day for merchants,” said Stan Hollen, president/CEO, CO-OP Financial Services. “That factor combined with an improving economy made Valentine's Day 2014 a perfect marriage of love and commerce.”

Transaction data was pulled from the debit and credit transactions of cardholding members of credit unions across the country using CO-OP Total Revelation, a data analytics tool from CO-OP.

The dollar amounts were tracked from Feb. 12 to 14, 2013, and compared to cardholder spending from Feb. 12 to 14, 2014.

Among the highlights of the CO-OP Total Revelation data:

• Data was tracked for a total of 16 different types of merchants. The grand total for all merchants saw a 19% increase in dollars spent in 2014 compared to the previous year.
• Cash withdrawals (individual number of transactions) were up by 18%.
• Restaurants showed a 20% increase in dollars spent year over year.
• Pay television services showed a 28% increase in dollars spent year over year.
• Grocery stores experienced 17% more dollars spent in their shops in 2014 compared to the previous year.  Additionally, grocery stores were the top merchant category for 2014 with three million separate transactions that totaled $135 million. 

The only category to show a decline from the previous year was video rentals – down 4%.