NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – Valentine’s Day is here and of course it is a chance for people to express love to someone special. Inflation or not, people are purchasing gifts for their loved ones. For some retail shops, February 14th means business is booming.

“They often call it like the florist Christmas, you know, so it’s certainly our busiest floral holiday of the year. I would say if we were to compare it to other random winter days, it’s probably 10 times as busy,” said the Owner of Many Graces Florist, Rebecca Maillet.

Consumers are expected to spend $25.9 billion on Valentine’s Day this year, up from $23.9 billion last year, and it’s one of the highest spending years on record, according to the National Retail Federation.

While flower and chocolate shops do a ton of business during the day, sit down restaurants control the night, and at the Tunnel Bar they’re even selling a heart shaped lobster.

Tunnel Bar Owner Jeremiah Micka told 22News, “We book pretty early, probably started three weeks ago, so I think we have 140 people on reservation for tonight. I mean Valentine’s Day falling on a Tuesday is awesome for us, because you know, we will quadruple our normal Tuesday sales for a Tuesday with Valentine’s Day.”

If you have someone special in your life, it’s never too late to go run and get some chocolates and flowers.