Love rules as Aussies still splurge on Valentine's Day

While cost-of-living pressures persist for many, the association's chief industry affairs officer Fleur Brown said people will continue to spoil loved ones.

Traditional gifts such as flowers, food, chocolates and experiences such as dinners and trips away will continue to be the gifts of choice.

At Mr Fresh Wholesale Flowers in Footscray in Melbourne's inner west, a team of workers have been working non-stop for the past 10 days, cutting rose stems and building bouquets in preparation for the day of love.

A kaleidoscope of coloured roses decorate the cool room, which for the past five days has been filled and dispatched to florists around the city 10 times.

"For Valentine's week, we bring in about 250,000 stems," Mr Fresh director Paul Pavlou said.

Even with the usual bump in sales during Valentine's, Mr Pavlou said there had been a shift in spending due to rising costs, with the industry down about 25 per cent.

"People are going to buy food, pay their mortgage and look after the kids before they go out and splurge for Valentine's," he told AAP.

"Generally it's the younger generation that maybe don't have as many financial commitments (that continue to spend)."

Conscious of cost-of-living pressures, Abacus in South Yarra is offering couples a dinner and a night out where they can enjoy bottomless pasta and a show.

The venue is shifting from the traditional candlelit dinner in a quiet and sophisticated environment to one with a DJ set on Friday, with about 190 seats already booked.

AMP economist Shane Oliver said Australians might start spending a bit more on Valentine's Day this year as economic conditions ease after several years of cutting back on discretionary spending.

"This time around, things might be a little bit better, because there's a bit more optimism around the economy and consumer confidence has picked up a bit," Dr Oliver told AAP.