In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the number of retail florist
shops in the U.S. fell about 14 per cent, as sales per shop rose 10 per cent,
according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Economic Census. In 2007, there were 19,609 retail florist shops, compared to 22,750 in
2002. The loss of 3,141 establishments puts the number of florist
businesses at about the same as in 1977.
The average sales per shop rose 10 per cent to $320,000, compared to $291,000 in 2002.
Total retail florist sales declined by more than 5 per cent
(unadjusted for inflation) to $6.275 billion, down from $6.625 billion
five years previously. Employee counts reflect these numbers, falling
by 18 per cent to 93,683 employees compared to 114,186 in 2002. Payroll
figures were down accordingly, declining by 6.7 per cent. In 2007, the
number of employees per shop averaged 4.78, the same as 10 years ago,
but down from 5.02 at the time of the 2002 census.
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