The floral industry has been interesting to follow this year, all things considered. And perhaps no industry is better at offering insight into the state of the world than the flower industry. People purchase flowers for holidays and romantic occasions, so if the flower industry sees losses, it could be indicative of larger societal issues.
In this article, we’re going to examine how the floral industry performed in 2020, both in relation to the global pandemic and in general day-to-day business.
How did the flower industry perform in 2020?
There were some concerns earlier this year regarding the possibility of quarantine and travel restrictions negatively impacting the flower industry. Despite concerns, it actually seems to have performed rather strong, and perhaps even beyond expectation. International import and export sales may have taken a few losses, due to trade restrictions in various countries, but domestic markets increased in demand.
Some of the largest US companies within the floral industry, such as 1800Flowers and Teleflora, performed exceedingly well in 2020 and have seen remarkable market growth, climbing even higher than in 2019.
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While smaller brick-and-mortar shops most likely suffered the most, flower shops that already had a good online presence, or were quickly able to adapt to the online market, seemed to experience the most growth during stay-at-home measures. It is unfortunate how traditional shop businesses have suffered, but it does serve to illustrate the importance of a strong online presence and adaptability for modern business owners.
Of course, it stands to reason that with more people staying home, there would be an upswing in flower deliveries to homes.
Subscription services like The Bouqs flower delivery service are able to deliver fresh flowers weekly to subscribers. Because people are working from home, of course, they’d want a fresh bouquet every week to brighten up their bedroom office, delivered straight to their door.
How do floral shops perform all year?
There are flowers for almost every special occasion. Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day account for around 40% of annual flower purchases worldwide, with Christmas and Hanukkah not far behind. The types of flowers sold vary by occasion, of course. Valentine’s Day sells the most roses, while Mother’s Day sells the most garden and house plants. During Christmas, many wreaths and holiday bouquets are sold.
Around the rest of the year, floral shops still remain within the realms of profitability. When you consider that non-calendar event days still account for around 50% of annual sales, you can see how a business often considered “seasonal” still performs well during the off-season.
A popular flower shop in a city might sell around 15,000 or more rose stems on Valentine’s Day, but could still sell an average of 1,500 or more stems each day of the week. With good planning and overhead management, flower businesses aren’t suffering when there are no holidays around.
Events like Valentine’s Day provide a welcome tremendous surge in sales for a day, but it’s also a very tiring and stressful day for the floral shop workers. If every day saw sales like Valentine’s Day, workers would quickly burn out, and it’d be very difficult to keep up with the supply and demand.
Why do people buy flowers beyond Valentine’s Day?
Flowers can be given on any occasion. Wouldnt be cool to give Manly Man Father’s Day bouquet?
Roses are traditionally given to a loved one on Valentine’s Day, but plenty of people still purchase stems and bouquets throughout the year, whether as gifts for romantic partners or hoping to impress a crush.
There are also many events that call for flower arrangements to add decor and set the moods for a room. Bridal showers, baby showers, weddings, corporate events, funerals, and more. Furthermore, the convenience of flowers cannot be ignored either. Even though flowers are a relatively inexpensive gift and quite common, there’s still a sentimentality attached. Giving flowers is a very traditional and appreciated gesture, and can be used to convey all kinds of thoughts and messages.
You could give your romantic partner a bouquet of roses, your co-worker a bouquet of yellow roses to congratulate their promotion, or carnations and a get well card to a friend in the hospital, and all of those gestures would have different meanings and intentions behind them but be appreciated much the same.
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