New research from Vypr has highlighted the cut flowers opportunity for convenience stores.
According to the research, almost three quarters of UK consumers (72%) only buy cut flowers in person for themselves and around two thirds (62%) only buy in-store to gift to someone else.
When asked why they don’t buy online, the top three answers were more choice (23%), they prefer to give a gift in person (23%) and they offer better value (13%). While value appears in the top three key factors, sales are not driven by lower price with consumers saying they are encouraged by bigger bunches that offer better value rather than lower priced flowers in general. Bigger bunches for better value was suggested by 21% compared to those who shop on price alone at just 5%.
The other factors that would encourage shoppers to spend more are longer lasting flowers for almost a third (30%) and attractive displays for 12%.
Vypr founder Ben Davies said: “A huge 76% of shoppers buy cut flowers on impulse and their reasons are emotional as the majority say they simply make them feel happy. Convenience store owners and managers could tune into this sentiment and improve the quality of their displays and merchandising, even by making sure they are always easily accessible and visible, this could unlock incremental sales.
“Consumers shopping especially for others, but also themselves, will not choose a bunch that has been squeezed so tightly into the bucket so that it’s damaged or ones with dead heads clearly visible. Store workers could be tasked to freshen up the displays daily and ensure close watch is kept on freshness and sell by dates to discount as soon as possible.”
While key calendar dates of Valentine’s, Mother’s Day and Christmas are traditionally huge sales drivers, birthdays (34%), simply a treat (22%) and anniversaries (13%) also factored highly, underlining the importance of offering a high quality and varied selection year round.
Davies added: “Convenience stores can’t always compete on price, but they are essential for shoppers looking for top up shops and offering a good selection of cut flowers could be a great way to increase basket spend. If owners look for flowers that are different to the supermarket offerings and find unusual or distinctive floral bouquets this could appeal to consumers’ senses and impulse driven motives.”
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