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CBS News poll: What do Americans prefer for a Valentine's Day gift?

Flowers make the best Valentine's Day gift according to the latest CBS News "Sunday Morning" Pulse Poll. 

Of Americans surveyed, 52 percent choose flowers, far ahead of perfume (18 percent), candy (16 percent), and lingerie (8 percent).

While flowers were tops for both men and women, men were a little more favorable than women -- 57 percent compared to 48 percent. Women were more inclined than men to prefer perfume (23 percent vs. 13 percent) or candy (17 percent vs. 14 percent).

Perfume is the second choice among those under 55, but candy came second among older Americans. 

Enthusiasm for lingerie as a Valentine's Day gift appeared to diminish with age: While 15 percent of those ages 18-34 picked lingerie, it was the choice of 8 percent of those 35-44, 6 percent ages 45-54, 7 percent ages 55-64, and 2 percent ages 65+.

CBS News Poll: Valentine's Day 2014 (pdf)

This poll was conducted by telephone from January 15-19, 2014 among 1,008 adults nationwide. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by Social Science Research Solutions of Media, Pa.  Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones.  The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher.  Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish.  This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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