Potted plants represent an ideal offering for your customers who are looking to accent their home with both flowers and foliage. As consumers continue to become more eco-friendly, plants are a green product that can beautify a space, add a natural element and provide health benefits. Here’s a look at how you can position this product in your shop.
Betty Ann Balcom is the owner of The Designer Kentville in Kentville, N.S., and it’s safe to say she knows her plants. The florist is also an accredited interior designer who places a big emphasis on foliage when she’s creating spaces for her clients. When asked what influences she sees in the potted plant market, Balcom says “the trend is to seek a more green way of living by bringing more natural elements into our living and working spaces.”
Balcom carries a range of plant products in her shop (see our web exclusive for a list of her preferred picks) and says top-notch plants and staff education are key. “As a florist, if you can educate the customer as to the many applications and benefits of placing plants in their interiors, you will sell more of them. Also, if customers come to expect good advice and product knowledge pertaining to the plants, they will buy more often,” says Balcom.
For upcoming occasions such as Mother’s Day and Easter, Balcom says orchids are always a big seller, as well as callas and anthuriums. At Westbrook Floral, perishable purchasing manager Rik Reinink echoes this and says right now the company’s biggest growth area is in orchids, and specifically, phalaenopsis orchids. “We have a whole range dedicated to that. I’m finding that the prices have stabilized and the product is moving out quite well.” Reinink says other popular products include mini roses for occasions like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. During the colder months at the beginning of the year, Reinink says they see a spike in green plants such as tropicals as well as exotics such as bromeliads and cymbidium plants because people are looking for these products to add warmth and colour to the home.
Thanks to big-box stores, the potted plant market has become a bit crowded, but there are things florists can do to set themselves apart from their competitors. Reinink says that in terms of size, a larger size is always better. “You can find a six-inch Easter lily at any mass market retailer right across the country. It’s so devalued,” he says. “What I think florists will take advantage of is an eight-inch or 10-inch size where you’re getting the higher price point.”
Accessorizing the plant is another way florists can add their unique touch. When Balcom receives a shipment of plants, she and her staff clean and groom the product and tack on pricing information along with care instructions on a custom-made tag. Then, the plant is dressed. “They all go in really classy ceramics with add-ons so you have good perceived value. This way, you can get A, your full markup on the plant and B, your full markup on your container and your add-on. You’re actually selling a bigger component with the plant every time one goes out the door,” she says.
The way a product is displayed can also be a big influence. “I have found that if plants are grouped throughout the shop, within realistic vignettes already set up, they sell better. Purchase ceramic and metal containers and plant stands in sizes to fit the plants. Display one of each container with a plant and have other similar containers incorporated within the same setting,” she says.
There are many benefits to having plants in the home and this is an important point that florists need to make their customers aware of. “There are a lot of studies out there and it is becoming more public knowledge about how plants clean the air,” says Reinink. “That’s what will help sell plants.” At her shop, Balcom has informative handouts that she gives to customers detailing how indoor plants are natural air cleaners, how they can increase comfort, boost employee alertness and productivity and enrich an office environment. She also uses picture frames in the shop, around and within the plant groupings, as a visual to educate.
It’s these combined marketing, display and educational efforts that can make plants a profitable product for a flower shop.
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