Valentine's Day is coming sooner than expected now that 2024 is here and going all in with the prep for this special love celebration. Love is in the air and people are beginning to feel that extra dose of love coming in for V-day. Customers will be coming into your floral shop in droves this holiday season to find the perfect gift for their special someone. This could be a significant other, a parent, or even a teacher or coach, so make sure you have the appropriate in-store promotions to meet their needs.
Here are a few ideas on how to make a profit this Valentine's Day while getting your flower shop ready for Cupid to hit hard on the florals.
5 Ways to Make a Profit on Valentine's Day
A day filled with love, admiration, and a lot of work for us florists! Valentine's Day will be here before we know it, and making plans ahead of time is always a good idea. What should we do to prepare for one of the most significant floral holidays? Here's a compilation of five great tips to help you make more profit during the loveliest season of the year and make people extra happy because there's nothing like fresh flowers for V-day, right? Take note!
1. Start With the Basics
Make sure your marketing fundamentals are in order before you begin any in-store promotion. This will ensure that you have everything you need to provide your customers with the flowers they desire. Take these points into consideration:
• Examine your customer base and previous year's orders to determine who you'll be promoting to. Is it primarily men? Women? What age range? This is critical information for honing your marketing message and purchasing the appropriate products this year.
• Recruit additional staff to assist you during this busy floral season. Make sure to include extra drivers or delivery people — or pre-arrange with a local delivery service.
• Purchase enough flowers and supplies to avoid running out. Knowing last year's orders, once again, will help you ensure you have enough of a particular flower in stock. It will also keep you from stocking items that did not sell well the previous year.
2. Show Your Love With Decorations
Valentine's Day is a great time to stock your store with red, pink, and white decorations, hearts, cupids, and other accessories. Your local hobby shop or party supply store will have plenty of materials — and ideas. You can start by creating eye-catching window displays with your Valentine's Day arrangements.
Focus on the flowers, of course, but also ensure that the signage is clear and that any special Valentine's Day offers are easily visible to passers-by. Additionally, you may also create two Valentine's Day sections in your store, one near the register and one near the front door. Highlight these areas with decorations and signage that communicate your offers and promotions.
Photo: @frogmcr
When you’re decorating, ensure the window displays and interior decorations match. If your design is different in the window than in the store itself, it could be jarring and a bit confusing for customers. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to buy.
3. Create Unique Valentine’s Day Gifts
Everyone’s looking for a special or unique Valentine’s Day gift, so make sure your store has many different gift options. This will satisfy both your regular customers and new customers who need ideas on what to purchase. Start by sourcing unique flowers from around the world (ones you wouldn’t usually have in your store), and create special arrangements with them. And, of course, make sure you have those traditional heart-shaped arrangements on hand as well.
Photo: @inesandmarieevents
Take into account that gift sets add value for customers and extra income for your store. So, create some interesting gift sets by combining floral arrangements with candles, chocolates, stuffed animals, and similar items for those who like gifts that have more in them. Other people prefer simplicity, so it's also a great idea to have simple but iconic flower bouquets that are made up of one type of flower.
Lastly, since both men and women will be shopping for Valentine’s Day, set up a section for 'For Him' and 'For Her' gift sets. Keep these close to the register area for impulse purchases and last-minute gift ideas.
4. Offer Different Pricing Tiers
Customers will want to spend varying amounts on Valentine's Day flowers, so provide a variety. Giving people a range of price points increases their purchasing confidence, satisfaction, and loyalty. You can opt to create a variety of arrangements at three different price points: low, medium, and high. Then, display these arrangements in your store with pricing information.
On the other hand, make use of outdoor signage to promote the various price tiers and available arrangements. Because they see how much you have to offer in their price range, this can bring in shoppers who would not have come in otherwise. Another option is to promote some of your lower-priced offers as 'in-store-only' on social media, which will give followers an incentive to come into the shop. Then, when they come in, they may just see something in a higher price range that they like even better!
5. Schedule Social Media Posts in Advance
Now is the time to create those social media posts and advertisements while you still have the time because everyone in the flower industry knows how chaotic Valentine's Day can get when it comes to sending flowers worldwide! When February comes, you must be prepared and also prepare your business to thrive online and make a lot of profit as V-day is one of the most important holidays in the flower industry.
Did you know Facebook and Instagram allow you to schedule posts up to three months in advance? Take a day to create all of your social media content before you get too busy and plan with anticipation is the best tip.
As an extra tip, if you need content ideas, you can go ahead and provide your audience with a preview of some of the products you'll be selling this year.
Whatever your strategy may be to boost your sales during this year's Valentine's Day, just know that flowers paralyze the world during this special day when love is celebrated globally. Make sure to start prepping your flower shops with the correct ambiance, get creative, and most importantly, display and sell your best flowers for V-day!
