Love is online for one in three men

- One in three men think it's OK to send Valentine's e-cards
- Single men are twice as likely to avoid Valentine's as single women
- Single men are twice as likely to sign their card if they are interested in the girl!
Love is going online this Valentine's Day with one in three men in a relationship happy to send a Valentine's e-Card, a new survey1 from independent research firm Viewsbank shows.
They might not get the response they are hoping for however. Just 26% of women think it is acceptable to send an e-card on February 14th with three out of four believing the traditional card in the post is the only way to go for showing your feelings.
Valentine's Day might be a major commercial opportunity, with up to £1 billion spent by couples, but the nationwide survey of those in relationships and those who are still looking for love reveals differences in attitudes between men and women when it comes to romance. Surprisingly it's not always men who are the least romantic.
Single men are twice as likely to give Valentine's a miss than the opposite sex. 37% of men are planning to avoid the day entirely compared with just 16% of women.
But those who do take part are keen not to remain anonymous – 30% of single men say they would definitely sign their name in a card if they were interested in someone compared with just 14% of women.
And those who are focused on romance make a real effort – around 9% of men admit to having sent four or more cards on one Valentine's Day. Women are less committed, or perhaps more choosy, with just 4% of them admitting to sending four cards or more at once.
David Black of Viewsbank said: "The internet is changing everything so the impact it has had on Valentine's Day, especially the switch to e-cards, is long overdue. Women's views on receiving them though are another matter.
"But romance is alive and well as the £1 billion spent on cards, presents and meals out demonstrates, as well as the fact that 90% of us admit to having sent at least one card at some point in their life."
Men and women agree that a weekend abroad is the most romantic thing that could be arranged for them – it was the top choice chosen by 31% of both men and women. Unsurprisingly 4% of men believe saucy lingerie is the most romantic thing that could be done for them – presumably worn by their partner. The bad news for those men is that no women in the survey agreed.
Just 4% of people admit to having sent cards to themselves – men are slightly more likely than women to do it. However 10% of women have had cards from their mother compared with just 5% of men.
Men are more likely to lie about Valentine's plans to avoid having to admit to spending it alone with 11% of men telling fibs compared with 8% of women.
1 Online survey of 2,121 adults conducted by Consumer Intelligence between 28th and 29th January 2014