Here's how much Brits splash out on loved ones living far away

Half of Brits struggle to visit their loved ones who live far away on a regular basis - but that doesn’t stop them splashing the cash to show how much they care.

A study has shown that the average British adult is willing to spend £707.98 on a loved one who they don’t see for weeks on end - a national spend of £23 billion per year.

Lockdown deprivation

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Spending on loved ones who live far away is likely to be greater this year than in years gone by. Restrictions on social journeys in the earlier stages of coronavirus lockdown meant that Brits couldn't see people who were special to them for weeks on end.

The research suggests almost three in four UK adults (74 per cent) have a close friend, family member or partner who lives more than an hour’s drive away from them.

One in two people admitted they only manage to visit their loved ones in person once every three to six months, if not less. Just over a quarter (26 per cent) of those surveyed felt that even before the coronavirus outbreak began they didn’t visit their loved ones as often as they should.

Generous gestures

Despite the struggle to make visits in person, Brits are very generous when it comes to forking out on gestures of affection.

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The research reveals that the average UK adult would spend as much as £707.98 on gifts for a long-distance loved one and gestures to show they care, over of the course of a year.

Travelling to visit loved ones is the favourite way to show long-distance family and friends that we’re thinking of them, with 90 per cent of Brits saying they’d do this.

Greetings cards

Sending cards is the second most popular way Brits say they would show their affection to close friends and family living far away (88 per cent). The  average adult would be happy to spend £24.77 a year to send cards to loved ones.

Third on the list is sending hand-tied bouquets or letterbox flowers (75 per cent) with the average Brit happily forking out £35.19 per year to send blooms to their nearest and dearest.

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Completing the top five is personalised gifts and gift vouchers (both 74 per cent) with the average adult happily spending £43.36 and £39.95 on these respectively.

Other ways in which Brits show their affection are: food and drink (71 per cent), books (68 per cent), pamper packs (63 per cent), perfume/cologne (61 per cent) and toys (61 per cent).

The survey was carried out among 2004 adults by the UK’s largest independent flower retailer Serenata Flowers.

(photo: Shutterstock)