2020 has been a roller coaster year , but when take care back it has been a fun one and figures corroborate it . By the third one-fourth of 2020 , the floral industry not only bound , but supermarket start to see it surpassing sale when compare to previous twelvemonth . It shows that US consumers are now purchasing more flowers and floral production for every 24-hour interval and are not just focusing on holidays that much anymore , like they used to . So , what was the most surprising about floral sales in 2020 ? Will consumers continue this type of buying behaviour ? What are the fresh trend and challenge in 2021 and what are the expectations for 2022 ?
In last Wednesdays ( May 26 ) Produce Marketing Association ’s virtual Floral Roundtable , four panelist discuss today ’s challenges and opportunities facing today ’s floral departments . Panelists who participate were Jerry Callahan ( GVP Produce / Floral ) and Debora Steier ( VP of Floral ) with Albertsons Companies and Martha Hilton ( VP Produce and Floral ) and Steve O’Malley ( Produce & Floral Group Manager ) with Wegmans Food Markets , Inc. The moderator was PMA ’s Director of Floral , Becky Roberts .
The panelists : Cockwise : Jerry Callahan , Debora Steier , Martha Hilton and Steve O’Malley .
Increase in salesBefore divvy up the experience of the retailers , below some statistics first . According to the IRI Supermarket Floral Sales Data , sale have increased over the last year . After a big dip in March and April , they started to rebound and increase . When comparing March 2020 to March 2021 , they report a 39 % increase in sales . More importantly , when equate March 2021 with March 2021 we still see an addition of 26 % in cut-rate sale .
When see at the ware per family , physical body clearly show that all categories ( rose , nosegay , outdoor plant life , arrangement , bulb ) except consumer bunches see dollar sales outgrowth . Also the price increase in the all categories except potted industrial plant and medulla oblongata . All in all , corsage and rose were for certain the two categories that outperform the other unity as they check an step-up in sale in dollar in whole sales and a somewhat increase in terms .
Will consumers continue this type ofbehavior?This is the bragging drive question that we are learn today . So , for help answer some of those questions , PMA , together with the Retail Feedback Group , guide a enquiry . They surveyed consumers and attempt to get some stimulation from them on where they are regarding purchasing blossom . It reveals that 94 % of the consumer who responded to the survey enunciate they had buy flowers . Of those , 72 % purchased flowered products at least once for themselves and 44 % of these purchase choose stead in a supermarket . to boot , 85 % of the consumer who purchased floral ware for themselves expend more than 10 USD in 2020 . All in all , these figures indicate that their purchasing behavior shift from vacation purchasing to every daytime buying . These are just some highlight of the research . Eager in hearing more ? PMA will keep anotherevent on June 17 , sharing more information .
Panelist : requirement is high , but there are still challenges terminate things to work onSo , what about the experiences from the retail merchant ? All in all , they are very proud of with last year ’s and this year ’s sale so far . They all agree that it has been a roller coaster twelvemonth and it surprised them how much the consumer bought and how much they are still bribe . It ’s all hands on deck to get the product in the stores . Before it used to be the supplier calling them , and now it is the supermarket is that is strive out to them , sound out " whatever you have , we ’ll take it " . And consumer does not seem to be as especial as they tough , regarding variety and specific colors , " they just require flowers " .
Also the price point is what surprised the panellist the most as they did not expect the consumers to go for the mellow mountain range item . But they did and are still doing .
Another change they notice is the change in twenty-four hour period of the week that they tell on ; it shifted from intemperately driven weekend sale to heavy drive weekday sales . Also more and more has gone online , a trend many supermarket feared from as floral purchases are impulse purchase . However , the shift to e - mercantilism did not seem to stop the consumers from purchase efflorescence and they still require to go to the stores .
The panelists love to see that flowers are becoming part of the lives of the US consumer and they will do their utmost best to keep give them a effective experience with their product . And with freight rate - all scene of freight - still being an way out it is sometimes a challenging project . Here again , communicating and flexibleness is key . During the midst of the pandemic , but also afterwards , it became very clear that having an open dialogue with their suppliers and be pliant enable to get the products in their store .
Another challenge they are meet are the addition in labor cost and the changes in their client shopping habit .
Expectations for 2022The panelists expect the consumers to continue buying flowers as it has become part of their animation now . The only thing that they expect to may change is the mixture of flower they are demand for . When bombastic gatherings will take plaza again , the demand for different types of flowers will arise , the expect .
Next Town Hall . The topic of next hebdomad ’s ( June 2 ) PMA Virtual Town Hall is : create a Culture to Retain Your Young Professionals , June 2 , 2021.Click here to register .
For more data : Produce Marketing Association ( PMA)www.pma.com
