Valentine Business Survey Results 2021
Thank you for taking part in our 10th annual Valentine's Day business survey.
Here, as promised, are the results.
Valentine's 2021 was always going
to be different Florists were unsure exactly how it would turn out, with Lockdown and no last minute men able to walk
in; it was a Sunday which is not normally as good as a weekday; with an even greater spike in prices than usual because
growers across the world had been badly affected by the pandemic and the weather; on top of which the practical effects of
Brexit causing disruption and delays for flowers (and accessories) coming in from abroad, and snow here! How could you
possibly take account of all those factors and make sensible predictions and preparations?
Well, you made it! Despite all the problems and fears, the majority of florists have
generally done better than they expected and are positive about prospects for Mother's Day and the rest of the year.
That said, there was a significant minority who did not do so well. These were generally florists who did not have a
good website where people could browse and order online, and/or had not invested over the past year in creating visibilty
and promoting themselves, particularly on social media.
We also asked what
key business things they had learned over the past 12 months and what they were doing differently. The answers were
interesting and illuminating. They prompted me to use the photograph of Charles Darwin and use his (often misquoted)
words about what enables a species to survive. You'll find the summary and analysis of these answers at the end
of these results.
The detailed results (based on 334 responses)
are below.
I wish you all good health and good business for Mother's Day, and
the rest of the year.
Grant McGowan
Supporting Florists
This was a much better Valentine's day than most people expected.
Six out of ten had better than expected business, with 45% saying it was much better than they
had believed that they would get. For one in four florists the level of business achieved was much as they had anticipated.
Only one florist in six felt that it had been worse than they had foreseen.
Just over half considered that business was better than last year (for one in three, much
better). However a significant three out of ten said that it had not been as good.
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Have
you checked your stock to make sure you have enough for Mother's Day?
Cards?
Envelopes? Labels? Order Pads? Delivery Cards?
Call us now on 01934 644451 and we'll get them to you pronto (even if you
haven't had them from us before!)
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Across the country two out of three claimed that the average order value was generally up
on last year. Only one in eight said that their average order value was down.
There was considerable variation in how people regarded the number of relay orders they received
compared to their expectations beforehand. the numbers were split fairly evenly between tose who were up, those who
were as expected and those who were down. There was disappointment and some anger amongst those who were down.
"The relay companies have deserted the florist for their
courier package, which has had an effect on my business, especially over Valentine's, so I'm expecting them to do
the same at Mother's Day, giving them all the orders and leaving us to pick up the ones they do not want. I have
never had so few relay orders: only 2 on 13th Feb and 4 on 14th Feb."
"
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Have
you checked your stock to make sure you have enough for Mother's Day?
Cards?
Envelopes? Labels? Order Pads? Delivery Cards?
Call us now on 01934 644451 and we'll get them to you pronto (even if you
haven't had them from us before!)
****************************************************************
Despite all the difficulties it seems that the vast majority of florists have learned to
adapt to how they need to operate during the current circumstances. Only 5% feel unprepared.
Following the success of Valentine's Day for the majority, seven out of ten of our respondents
are anticipating a better Mother's Day than last year. One in seven are more cautious however, saying that they
are expecting it to be about the same as 2020. One in six think that business will be down.
Two out of three are optimistic with one in six very optimistic. Only one in eight
is pessimistic. Considering what the country has been through (and is still going through) with the Covid pandemic and
the ructions to flower supply caused by the fallout from Brexit and the weather. florists are remarkably upbeat on the whole.
Let's all hope that faith is rewarded!
We asked an open-ended question where people could respond entirely as they
wished:
"It's been a tough 12 months. We've
all had to learn to cope with circumstances that we've never encountered before, both in our business and personal lives.
What do you feel are the key business things you've learned over the past 12 months? What are you doing differently?
"
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Have
you checked your stock to make sure you have enough for Mother's Day?
Cards?
Envelopes? Labels? Order Pads? Delivery Cards?
Call us now on 01934 644451 and we'll get them to you pronto (even if you
haven't had them from us before!)
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