The
spring holiday season left florists wanting this year, as almost half
reported a dip in Easter sales and close to 60 percent saw sales fall
for Administrative Professionals Week/Secretaries Week (APW), compared
to last year. Although fewer shops than last year reported Easter sales
declines (49 compared to 51 percent), 10 percent more reported lower
APW sales. The results are from SAF’s combined Easter/APW spring
holiday online survey of retail florists conducted April 28 through May
11.
Easter: Cracking the Egg
The hit that shops with lower sales took was more significant than
the gains made by shops reporting an increase. However those declines,
which averaged 20 percent, were about the same as experienced last year
(18 percent). The average increase was 12 percent, about equal to last
year’s 13 percent.
The survey asked florists to choose reasons for their sales
increases or declines, and they were permitted to select multiple
factors. Not surprisingly, most florists attributed the declines to the
economic climate, both national and regional (75 and 71 percent
respectively). More than half (54 percent) cited a general decline in
observance or importance of the holiday; while 48 percent saw
competition from mass marketers as the culprit. About half the business
owners reported declines in incoming and outgoing wire orders and in
the number of units sold.
Supermarkets
were cited by 40 percent as the main competitor, up slightly from a
year ago, followed by increasing competition from order gatherers (up 7
percentage points in a year) and mass merchandisers. Mass merchandisers
were perceived as less threatening than a year ago (down 9 percentage
points).
The average transaction fell about $3 from a year ago to an average
of $40.45, despite the fact that 75 percent of shops kept the prices of
featured Easter items about the same as last year.
More shops reported increases in the orders from their Web sites
than reported declines (26 percent to 20 percent). About 40 percent
said online orders were unchanged from a year ago.
Easter lily sales continue to wane, with 63 percent of shops
reporting declines. Those that did sell more lilies saw about a 10
percent boost in sales, compared to 28 percent hit taken by those shops
selling fewer lilies.
About a quarter of florists sold more of the smaller single Easter
lilies (one bulb per pot) than a year ago. About 19 percent and 9
percent of shops saw their sales of double lilies and triple lilies
increase respectively, this year.
The prices for single potted Easter lilies increased 8.3 percent, to an
average of $21.03. Prices were softer by 4 percent (average price
$32.62) and 2 percent (average price $44.81) for the double and triple
potted holiday lilies, respectively.
Most retail florist businesses (73 percent) promoted the holiday with the same effort as last year.
APW: Didn’t You Get the Memo?
More than one third of florists referred to the holiday as
“Administrative Professionals Week,” up from 22 percent from four years
ago. Conversely, the popularity of the name “Secretaries Week” has
steadily declined among florists from 38 percent in 2005 to 20 percent
in 2009. 
While
there might be a growing consensus in what to call the holiday, there
is no combined strategy in how to make it more lucrative for florists.
Almost 60 percent of florists reported sales off from a year ago. For
those fortunate enough to see an increase from 2008, the average
increase was just over 11 percent, while declines averaged more than 25
percent. Unit sales were reflected in those findings, averaging about
10 percent for increases and 23 percent for decreases.
Non-floral sales at florists made up 5.5 percent of sales, up less than 1 percentage point from 2008.
The amount of shop promotion for APW was unchanged at more than
half (53 percent) of shops, about the same as last year’s survey
showed. However, the proportion reporting a reduced amount of promotion
this year doubled compared to a year ago from 8 percent to 16 percent
of businesses. At the same time, 14 percent of owners reported that
non-floral businesses in their areas were increasing their promotion of
the holiday.
A small but growing proportion of sales were generated from the
shops’ Web site(s). Web orders, even if the customer called in the
order after viewing the Web site, generated 6.1 percent of sales
compared to 3.8 percent a year ago.
Contrary to the findings for Easter, the average APW transaction amount held virtually unchanged from a year ago at 34.59.
For
those 13 percent of shops reporting increases, corporate accounts
provided a sales boost. More or repeat corporate accounts was the top
reason cited by 21 percent of those shops. More than 17 percent of
florists who reported higher sales agreed that, each of these factors;
increased shop reputation, more walk-in sales, e-mail campaigns, and
good word of mouth/buzz about the shop were responsible for those
gains, as compared to other factors selected less frequently.
The 60 percent of shop owners who reported lower sales pointed to
the same factors for the slump. The economy got the a big chunk of the
blame, with 68 percent citing the national financial climate and 59
percent their regional forecasts. Other reasons each agreed to by 30
percent or more of florists, included confusion over who the holiday is
for, lack of public awareness of the holiday, lack of support of the
holiday by the business community and a general decline in importance
and observance of APW. Additional reasons, with consensus just under 30
percent, included not enough industry promotion, confusion over the
name of the holiday, a decline in walk-in traffic, competition from
supermarkets and mass merchandisers, competition from other non-floral
gift options, and the name change from Secretaries Week to
Administrative Professionals Week.
Despite the use of the word “week” in the holiday’s name, 90 percent
of orders were delivered on Wednesday, the holiday once known as
Secretary’s Day.
Source: SAF post-holiday survey of retail florists,
April 28 to May 11, 2009. Based on 337 competed surveys (response rate
= 8.1 percent).