How Deep is Your Love? Instacart Ranks Top Cities for Romance

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and here at Instacart, we believe that food is the quickest way to the heart. Whether you swoon over chocolate-covered strawberries, pucker up for heart-shaped candies, or are head over heels for full-bodied cabs, there are certain foods that simply spark romance more than others.

For the third year in a row, we dove deep into our trove of grocery data to uncover romance trends and insights. Without further ado, here are the top findings from the 2019 Instacart Romance Index (IRI).

National Romance Trends

First, we looked at nationwide data and noticed a spike in romance-related search trends:

• Flower Power: Chocolate came out on top in last year's Romance Index, but this year's IRI is all about florals! Not just one, but the top three most searched terms were "roses," "floral," and "flowers." Why yes, we will accept this rose.
• InstaHeart: Searches for the term "hearts," which generates product results like heart-shaped cookies, cheese, and even ring pops, saw a huge spike surrounding Valentine's Day, growing by 256 percent the week of the 14th.*

How Local Hearts Stack Up

Second, we looked at 20 universally romantic search terms and studied them to determine which cities were the most - and least - romantic. Cities that boasted the biggest bump in romantic searches ranked high on the index, and the cities that treated the days leading up to February 14 as "any other day" fell to the bottom.

Let's Take a Look Back…

Before we unveil the 2019 results, let's take a stroll down memory lane and revisit 2018's IRI results.

Drumroll Please…

And now, the moment you've been waiting for, our third annual ranking of the most and least romantic cities.

2019 Most Romantic Cities:

1. Baltimore - A newcomer on the list this year, Baltimore dethroned Boston (a two-time winner!) for the title of most romantic city. Love is in the air in Edgar Allan Poe's hometown! ❤️
2. Denver - Denver is heatin' up! The mile high city went from the #5 least romantic city in 2018 to the runner up this year.
3. San Diego - This city is feeling beachy keen! From the sixth least romantic city to the third most romantic city, it seems San Diegans are taking long romantic strolls up our list.
4. Seattle - Coming in as the fourth least romantic city in 2018, Seattle did a complete 180 and is now the fourth most romantic city this year. With rainy days being the norm, Seattleites must know how to keep warm with someone special.
5. Houston - Giddy up! Named the least romantic city in 2018, Houston has turned over a new leaf and has earned a spot on the most romantic cities list this year.
6. San Antonio - From the seventh least romantic city in 2018 to the sixth most romantic city this year, San Antonio has sure upped their game! Maybe love is just bigger in Texas…
7. Boston - Dethroned from its spot as the most romantic city in both 2017 and 2018, Boston hangs onto a top ten spot, but clearly has some competition. Time to step up the love game!
8. Los Angeles - A newcomer to the most romantic cities list, Los Angeles shows that it knows a thing or two about California Love ☀️
9. Phoenix - Coming in hot, Phoenix is another newbie on our most romantic cities list. Phoenicians can attest that (Love is Like A) Heat Wave
10. Austin - The city known for its eclectic live music scene dropped from #3 to #10 in ranking this year on the most romantic cities list. Love really is a battlefield.

2019 Least Romantic Cities:

10. New York - Start spreading the news… The City That Never Sleeps joins our list for the first time this year, coming in as the tenth least romantic city this year. Here's hoping the city can turn this around quicker than a New York minute!

9. Toronto - We're sorry, eh, but the largest city in Canada has landed on the least romantic cities list for the first time. That's ok, there's always next year!

8. Indianapolis - The capital of Indiana remains on the least romantic cities list for the third year in a row! Give love a chance, Indianapolis!

7. Atlanta - Unfortunately it looks like Atlanta took the midnight train from the #2 most romantic city to the #8 least romantic city.

6. Philadelphia - The City of Brotherly Love landed on the least romantic list this year after two strong years on the most romantic cities list.

5. Minneapolis - Listed as the fifth most romantic city in 2017, Minneapolis skipped a year and is now on the least romantic cities list. With its frequent sub-zero temps, it's time for the people of Minneapolis to cozy up with someone special.

4. Oakland - Formerly #6 on the most romantic cities list, Oakland has fallen off the love train.

3. Raleigh - For the second year in a row, Raleigh ranks on the least romantic cities list. It's time to rally for love, Raleigh!

2. Charlotte - Raleigh's neighbor, Charlotte, also ranks as a least romantic city. In 2018, Charlotte ranked as the #5 most romantic city on our list!

1. Detroit - The motor city has been named the least romantic city this year. Vroom, vroom! Time to rev up the engine for love, Detroit!

No matter where your city fell on this year's Instacart Romance Index, there's still plenty of time to surprise your sweetie for the upcoming holiday. Instacart makes it easier than ever to purchase last-minute Valentine's essentials, including flowers, candy, wine, dessert, cards, and more from your favorite national and local retailers, with delivery in as fast as one hour. Ultimately, the most romantic place on Valentine's Day is with the one you love. ❤️

*Methodology Statement:

We examined the change in Instacart user behavior by comparing growth adjusted week over week changes in the popularity of various search terms. We used a data set comprised of millions of searches from consumers spread over all North American markets in which Instacart operated in 2018. Our results are focused on the strongest relative rise in customer interest in the week of Valentine's Day for our designated search terms.

Happy Valentine's Day from the Instacart Team!