Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

Doug Lindamood, Design Room Manager for George's Flowers, arranges one of 100 dozen flower arrangements for the day. George's Flowers scaled down expectations for Valentine's Day this year by ordering fewer flowers and keeping floral prices the same, rather than raising prices from last year.

A tower of decadent truffles -- or a box of conversation hearts? Twelve red roses -- or just six, with extra filler to make the vase appear full?

Will love conquer the economy this Valentine's Day?

Florists, candy stores, restaurateurs and jewelers hope so, but they're not taking any chances. By pumping up marketing and discounting flowers, jewelry and lingerie, they're trying to entice love-struck consumers who still are hunting for the perfect gifts for their valentine. And because Valentine's Day shoppers are notoriously last minute, retailers have a small window of time.

National reports point to a Feb. 14 when people will spend less on love. Consumers will shell out about $102.50 each on valentine gifts, down from $122.98 last year, according to a National Retail Federation survey.

This kind of outlook led a local candy and greeting card store, Chocolatepaper, to beef up advertising this year. The retailer, which has two Roanoke Valley locations, has promoted its gourmet goodies through several media recently, including a chocolate tasting event and a giveaway on a radio station.

"We know this year people are skittish," said Melissa Palmer, an owner of Chocolatepaper. "We are advertising because we want our customers to know that we have an affordable indulgence."

The store's chocolate prices remain the same as last year, with heart-shaped truffles for as little as $1.75 and $100 lovers baskets piled with sauces, truffles and a chocolate thong.

For Valentine's Day, the price of wholesale flowers triples because of increased demand. George's Flowers in Roanoke typically passes the added cost to customers through slightly higher flower prices each year.

But this year, George Clements, owner of the store, did not increase prices for certain arrangements, knowing that consumers' budgets are tight.

Clements also has low expectations for this year's valentine sales. Sales have been down since March. Usually the Valentine's Day period is one of the florist's busiest of the year.

"We have purposely bought less product, knowing that we would see a drop in business," Clements said.

Still, the phones are ringing and at least six George's employees in assembly-line style filled clear vases with dark red roses, baby's breath and greenery this week inside the company's warehouse on Franklin Road. It's too early to tell how this year's valentine sales will compare with 2008, Clements said. On Saturday, he'll keep the floral shop open four hours longer, until 4 p.m., for last-minute shoppers.

Already, flower orders are down from last year at Stritesky's Flower Shop in Roanoke County. Most years, the florist has double the number of orders that it had as of Tuesday, said co-owner Jean Stritesky.

She blamed the slowdown on the sluggish pace of consumer spending and competition from grocery stores that sell fresh flowers.

"The economy is affecting everything, and definitely flower sales," Stritesky said.

Still, when Feb. 14 lands on a Saturday, it doesn't help the floral business, Clements said. Often people head out of town for the weekend without making a local flower purchase, he said.

Plus, the big day for flower deliveries moves to the Friday before the holiday. Local florists say they are inundated with flower deliveries to local offices this Friday.

Restaurants may see some bump from the Saturday Valentine's Day. Some local eateries already are booked, including Frankie Rowland's Steak House in Roanoke and Carlos Brazilian International Cuisine in Roanoke County.

Other retailers expect to bulk up their business in the next few days. Online through today, you can receive $15 off $100 orders, $30 off $150 purchases and $75 off $250 orders at Victoria's Secret.

Rick Mirzayan, owner of the Jewelry Connection, expects last-minute male shoppers through Saturday. Sales patterns this year haven't been encouraging. Some of the Jewelry Connection's regular customers, who typically spend $1,000, are eyeing $200 purchases, he said. To drive valentine sales, all silver jewelry is discounted 20 percent at his Roanoke store.

Cynthia Callis of Roanoke will buy less for her husband this year, though she's not sure how much he will spend on her. She browsed the candy selection at Chocolatepaper in downtown Roanoke one recent afternoon, but she plans to bake a chocolate cake and give her husband a large Hershey chocolate bar. Last year, she also made him a chocolate cake and gave him a push-up machine.

This Feb. 14, she said she'll be satisfied with whatever gift he chooses for her, no matter how much he spends.

"Spending time doesn't cost much," she said.