Feb. 2, 2010 - The percentage of florists who saw Christmas holiday sales increase or stay the same nearly doubled in 2009, compared to 2008, according to the Society of American Florists.
The percentage of florists who saw Christmas holiday sales increase or
stay the same nearly doubled in 2009, compared to 2008, according to
the Society of American Florists.
In an SAF survey, 56 per cent of the retail florists said Christmas/Hanukkah sales were either up or about the same as last year. In 2008, less than a third (30 per cent) could make that claim. For the 2009 holiday season, sales were up at 36 per cent of retail florist shops, unchanged at 20 per cent and down at 44 per cent, according to SAF's Christmas Sales and Valentine's Day Intentions Survey. In 2008, 68 per cent of retail florist businesses reported declines, 19 per cent saw an increase and 11 per cent saw no change from the year prior.
For shops reporting an uptick in '09, the average increase was about 11 per cent. For shops that saw sales fall, the average decrease was 18 per cent.
Florists attributed the gains mostly to, in order, increased shop reputation, more wire in and online sales, better word-of-mouth and buzz about their shops and an increase in walk-in sales, among other factors.
Shop owners who reported declines attributed them to the national and regional economies and declines in corporate gift orders. Other negative factors cited included fewer wire-in orders, competition from online floral vendors and order gatherers, less walk-in traffic and competition from supermarkets and mass marketers.
Poinsettia sales, a mainstay of the Christmas season, fell at 43 per cent of retail florist shops. Poinsettia sales were up at 18 per cent of shops and about the same as last year at 39 percent of shops. Declining poinsettia sales have been the norm for the past five years for about 45 per cent of shops. However, about one in 10 florists said their shops had experienced an upward trend in Poinsettia sales for the past five years.
Data on sales of Poinsettias at non-florist outlets was unavailable. However last year, the overall availability of the popular Christmas plant in terms of production fell 9 per cent in 2008 compared to 2007 and the number of producers was down 6 per cent, according to the USDA. Though it appears that the overall market is contracting, it will be interesting to see how that pie is being divided among various types of outlets.
These results are from SAF's post-holiday online survey of retail florists and based on 426 responses (12 per cent response rate). Watch for additional results on at www.safnow.org.
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