Flower sales blossomed in the run-up to Mothering Sunday, reflecting an overall upward trend in the category, retailers have told C-Store.

Ramesh Shingadia, of Londis Southwater, West Sussex, said flower sales were “exceptionally strong” this year.

“I ordered 50% more stock in time for Mother’s Day and had sold every last bunch, including the most expensive, by 3pm on the Sunday,” he said. “I’ve expanded my range since the start of the year in order to offer three distinct price tiers, starting at £4.99, a mid-priced bunch at £9.99 and a premium at £14.99.”

He added: “I’m not sure why demand is growing so much. I can only guess that the current climate is prompting people to value and reward those they hold dear much more.”

Convenience Retailer of the Year David Knight, of Knight’s Budgens of Hassocks, sold a record £3,500-worth of flowers in the week before Mothering Sunday, while Londis retailer Sunder Sandher said he didn’t order enough flowers at his new store in Headington, Oxford. “On Sunday afternoon I arrived and they had all gone. I thought they had been stolen! I ordered half the amount I should have, but I’ve only been open a few weeks so I’ll know for next time.”

He said shoppers were definitely buying more flowers at local shops, rather than “paying over the odds” for deliveries.

Horsham retailer David Heritage, of Barns Green Village Store, said there was a definite trend towards buying local, which was helping his flower sales. “We had cleared out what we had. People are piling into the daffodils at the moment.”

He added: “We’re also cheaper than the supermarket and I’ll never sell a bunch for more than a fiver. People seem to be buying flowers to cheer themselves up in these hard times.”