Approximately 25 per cent of all greeting cards purchased each year are Valentines, putting the sugary messages in second place behind traditional Christmas cards.

According to the American Greeting Card Association, all the Valentines exchanged each year add up to approximately 1 billion love notes.

“That’s a lot of love,” an association spokesperson said. “It makes you wonder how many of those notes lead couples to the altar.”

The Loft Brothers Confectioners marketed the first box of Valentine’s candy in New York City in the late 1800s. Heart-shaped boxes filled with assorted candies are still one of the largest selling Valentines Day gifts, retail experts said.

“No matter, people are always happy to receive the heart-shaped boxes of candy on Valentine’s Day,” the experts said. “It’s a tradition that has been carried over for ore than two centuries.”

On a floral note, lovers, spouses and other strangers buy more than 50 million roses for their significant others each Valentine’s Day, despite highly escalated pries charged for the blossoms each year.

“Females just love flowers,” an Astoria flower shop worker said. “Sometimes I think they like flowers as much as diamonds.”