As we head into Valentine’s Day this weekend, DoorDash data shows romance in Australia is evolving – with less pressure, more convenience, and a lot more takeaway.

DoorDash is lifting the lid on how Australians actually celebrated romance in 2025 – and the data shows love looked less like candlelit dining and more like takeaway, roses and beer.

Fast flowers

Flowers dominated DoorDash grocery spending in the lead up to last Valentine’s Day, with seven of the top 10 purchased items the week of Valentine’s Day being floral. 

Red roses in particular generated 10 times more revenue than any grocery item.

Australians ordered the most roses between 11am and 5pm, proving romance pairs perfectly with lunch breaks and last‑minute planning.

Sydney beat Melbourne to be the romance capital of Australia ordering 18% more roses than Melbourne and a massive 162% more than Brisbane.

Takeaway holiday 

DoorDash says Valentine’s Day is now a takeaway holiday, as food delivery volumes outsold all gift categories combined during last year’s Valentine’s period.

American, Indian and Asian were the most‑ordered cuisines on Valentine’s Day 2025, while chips, garlic naan and butter chicken were the most ordered dishes nationwide.

Sweet treats

DoorDash data reveals purchases of sweet treats spike after dark. Whether a post‑dinner cravings or last‑minute gift panic, Aussies chocolate sales surged after 7pm.

Melbourne leads the nation in chocolate purchases, followed by Sydney and Brisbane.

The top ordered chocolate items were Cadbury Dairy Milk Large Block, Ferrero Rocher, and gifting chocolate assortments.

Valentine halo

The Valentine halo extends to everyday items as well, driving increase of premium chocolate, sparkling wines, novelty snacks, personal care items, and even air fresheners.

Valentine’s Day wasn’t a big night for condom shopping… almost everywhere. Dubbo, however, broke the trend with a surprise 1am sales spike, earning itself the title of 2025’s most unexpected outlier.

DoorDash’s data reveals beer proved to be the most popular alcoholic beverage for Valentines day 2025 surpassing wine and champagne by 76% and 121% respectively.

Strawberries become the holiday’s quiet MVP, seeing a 55% increase in orders signalling a major rise in home meal prep and romantic dessert culture.