'Engagement Season' 2023-24 Should See Strong Rebound in Marriage Proposals

Next week marks the beginning of “engagement season,” the especially blissful time of the year that stretches from Thanksgiving until Valentine’s Day and accounts for nearly 40% of all marriage proposals.

About 19% of all proposals take place during the month of December, which is more than twice as popular as any other month. For many years, Christmas Day has been the most preferred day to get engaged, followed by a frosty mix of favorites that include Christmas Eve, Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve.

Engagements tend to occur during the holiday season because couples love to celebrate in a relaxed atmosphere surrounded by friends and family.

About 2.8 million couples get engaged every year in the United States, according to data compiled by jewelry chain Signet. But for the past few years, the jewelry industry has experienced an "engagement gap" due to the relationship-busting effects of COVID-19. Many singles were forced to isolate themselves and stepped out of the dating pool.

Signet noted that couples get engaged about 3.25 years after they begin dating, so the COVID disruption resulted in the number of engagements thinning out at 2.1 to 2.2 million in 2023.

With a gradual return to pre-pandemic lifestyles, the coming season should reflect the beginning of a rebound, with 2.4 to 2.5 million engagements expected in 2024. Signet predicts the upward trend will continue over the next three years, as the company has identified 14 million people right now in the "dating funnel."

States, such as Texas and Florida, which were the first to drop pandemic restrictions, are 10 points closer to pre-pandemic engagement levels than other states that opened later, according to Signet.

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