WASHINGTON – Retailers have long encouraged couples to give to each other on Valentine's Day, but now some businesses have discovered that singles like to celebrate February 14 with gifts to themselves, The Washington Post reports.

"Valentine's Day always comes with a certain amount of expectation and angst," Jennifer Olsen, senior director of marketing for online shoe store Piperlime, told the newspaper. "We just wanted to turn that on its head and say: 'You know what? It's Valentine's Day. Give some love to yourself.'"

The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasts that the average consumer will shell out $119.67 for Valentine's Day this year, up from $100.89 last year. Men are expected to outspend women with charges of $156.22 compared with $85.08. "People certainly do reward themselves during the holidays," NRF spokesman Scott Krugman told the Post.

Retailers might have been encouraged to look beyond couples on Valentine's Day and other holidays given the latest Census data. According to a 2005 American Community Survey, nearly 58 million females – or almost half of those older than 15 – have never been married or are separated, divorced or widowed. That figure jumped nearly 5 percent from three years earlier, and since 1990, the number has advanced almost 20 percent, the newspaper reports.