VALENTINE’S Day has come and gone once again, having presented a series of benefits and challenges to businesses in Tenbury.

Traditionally traders in the town look forward to the boost provided by couples and secret admirers stocking up on cards, chocolates and flowers. In recent years, however, businesses have had to contend with the effects of the cost-of-living crisis driving up running costs and making shoppers more cautious of where they spend their cash.

Georgina Painter-Black, who runs Georgina’s Flowers, a small floral arrangement business in Rochford, said that she received a modest number of orders ahead of the big day.

She appreciated that some people were choosing to buy her homegrown English posies as an alternative to red roses, which are not currently in bloom at the moment and are therefore often imported into the UK from abroad.

She said she tries to grow most of her products in her own seven-acre garden, and locally sources what she can’t grow herself in order to maintain environmental sustainability.

Gary Thom of Mr Thom’s in Teme Street said that his business experiences a bigger uplift around Valentine’s Day when the occasion falls on a weekend rather than a weekday.

In terms of chocolate sales, the day generally does not bring in as many customers as celebrations such as Mother’s Day or Easter, but his restaurant's limited-time Valentine's menu has received a strong response with plenty of locals booking tables for the special evening, he said.

Mr Thom added that many children in the area currently have a week off school for half-term thus bringing extra customers into the shop to purchase chocolates and other sweet goods, so expects that this factor paired with the Valentine’s restaurant bookings will make for a good week of business overall.

Sarah Thompson of Special Occasions, which is also in Teme Street, said the day has brought about an increase in sales, primarily in cards, as she offers a lot more choice than what a shopper might find in a supermarket.

She added that sales are lower than they have been previously, however, as the day falls in the middle of the week this year, so some couples are celebrating on the weekend before or after the date itself meaning that Valentine's purchases are less concentrated.

“People are watching their pockets and they’ve just come out of Christmas,” said Ms Thompson.

“They’ve only had one pay since Christmas so there’s that as well.”