Valentine's Day Gifts: SuperPages.com Survey Finds the Cost of Playing Cupid Varies by Gender

DALLAS - According to a national survey released today by Verizon SuperPages.com (http://www.superpages.com), men and women don't always agree when it comes to Valentine's Day gifts and how much love costs. While 50 percent of men think they need to spend more than $50 to show their love for their sweetheart on Valentine's Day, three-quarters of women plan to spend less than that amount on gifts.

For most women, it's the thought behind the Valentine's Day gift, not the price tag, that counts. Seventy-five percent of females said they expect their significant other to spend less than $50, and only 5 percent expect a gift worth $100 or more.

"This year, it's the smaller, more personalized Valentine's Day gifts that are hot, and you don't have to spend a lot of money to say 'I love you,'" said Jaye Hersh, celebrity shopper and founder of the trendy Los Angeles boutique Intuition. Romantic ideas like personalized his and hers robes and pajamas, pomegranate candles and monogrammed dress shirts are among the less expensive Valentine's gifts she's buying for her major Hollywood clients. More gift recommendations from Hersh are featured on http://www.superpages.com, the most comprehensive shopping destination where consumers can compare prices, purchase or bid on almost any gift for their loved ones.

When planning a romantic dining experience, Italian food and a home-cooked meal were the clear winners for both men and women. The majority (32 percent) of respondents consider Italian food to be the most romantic meal for Valentine's Day, and 20 percent think cooking dinner at home is the ideal date. Eleven percent prefer a steakhouse, 8 percent would pick French food, and 7 percent think seafood is the most romantic choice.

The survey also found that men are much more likely to send flowers, with 30 percent planning to send flowers to their sweetheart versus only 4 percent of women. More than half of women would prefer to receive flowers at home on Valentine's Day, 24 percent want them delivered to their workplace, and 20 percent will take them in either location.

The survey was a TNS Express Internet Omnibus national survey of 1,000 consumers, fielded from January 20-23, 2005, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percent.

Verizon Information Services and SuperPages.com

Verizon Information Services is the world's leading print and online directory publisher, a content provider for communications products and services, and the largest publisher of Hispanic directories in the U.S. With operations in six countries and annual revenues of more than $3.1 billion, Verizon Information Services publishes almost 1,600 U.S. Verizon yellow pages directories and nearly 53 international directories with a total circulation of approximately 130 million copies worldwide.

Based in the Dallas area, Verizon Information Services produces and markets SuperPages.com, the Internet's #1 online directory. SuperPages.com received as many as 14 million visits and 9 million unique visitors in a month and powers directory services on MSN, InfoSpace, Excite, Lycos, HotBot, and BigFoot as well as more than 2,500 affiliate Web sites.

Verizon Information Services is a unit of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), one of the world's leading providers of communications services. With more than $71 billion in annual revenues, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon has a diverse work force of more than 210,000 in four business units: Domestic Telecom serves customers based in 29 states with wireline telecommunications services, including broadband, nationwide long-distance and other services. Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 43.8 million voice and data customers across the United States. Information Services operates directory publishing businesses and provides electronic commerce services. International includes wireline and wireless operations and investments, primarily in the Americas and Europe. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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