Generations of Flowers Study

When carrying out further research into the typical consumer to flowers i came across this study that demonstrates the attitude that society have over flowers. This includes features on their key insights, flower purchases, flowers for gifts, and the difference in different flowers. This has become somewhat very useful for me and my knowledge on flowers.

Key Insights

Attitudes Toward Flowers

The research shows that flowers are valued by most, but appear to have more depth of meaning for older generations.

When probed on why they appreciate flowers, consumers are most likely to relate to the sensory & emotional aspect of flowers, agreeing:

• The color of the flowers adds to the impact of a gift (64% agreement)
• The sight and smell can improve my mood (60%)
• Flowers are an emotional gift (56%)
• Flowers make me feel special (56%)
• The fragrance is important to me (53%).

Flowers have a high interpersonal resonance.

• Consumers believe the gift of flowers signifies being caring (61%), personal (58%), and sentimental (58%). Further, people who give flowers as gifts are most likely to be perceived as thoughtful (77%) and sincere (57%).
• While many saw flowers as a traditional gift, this is not considered to be a negative, but a time-honored and valued custom.

Flowers and Gifting

While traditional gifting makes up a significant portion of the market for flowers, “just because” gifting and purchases for the home are also important.

• Flowers are the number one gift of choice for romantic situations and also housewarming parties. (Iconoculture interviews indicate a growing trend of hosting among Gen Y.)
• Buying flowers as a “present to myself” also accounts for a sizable number of purchases.

Flowers also appear to be a popular “second choice” for many other gifting situations (such as an anniversary), perhaps presenting an opportunity to position flowers as a complementary gift.

Flower Purchase Behavior

Retail venues that provide convenience and low price options are most popular, especially among younger generations.

• A higher percentage of consumers stated they typically purchase flowers at supermarkets (73% self, 68% gift) versus a local florist shop (61% self, 64% gift).

Florists are respected and held to higher standards than other retail outlets.

• Offering flower quality and freshness (76%), getting what you expect (76%), and flower longevity (70%) are all very important to consumers when shopping at a florist.

Most consumers prefer to purchase flowers in person (67%).

• While only one in eight prefer the Internet (12%), it plays an important role in the purchase process.Of those who have used the Internet when purchasing flowers, a majority have gone online to see pictures of different arrangements (53%), to price flowers (45%), and to send flowers out of the area (42%).
• This is an important marketing implication for local florists, as two in five (42%) consumers have used the Internet to find a local florist’s phone number or location, and one-third (32%) have gone online to find a local florist’s Web site.

Despite current economic conditions, more consumers indicate they will purchase flowers as gifts more frequently than previous years (32%), rather than purchase them less often (25%). The opposite is true when purchasing for themselves (9% more often, 37% less often).

Generational Differences

Generation Y

Compared to Boomers and Gen X’ers, Gen Y consumers are significantly less likely:

• To have a high appreciation of flowers or agree with other emotional aspects associated with the gift of flowers, such as the ability to lift one’s spirits. This indicates a pressing need for updating the image of flowers for this generation to allow for a higher level of personal resonance.
• To see giving flowers as “personal” or to purchase flowers as a “personal pickme- up”. This suggests a relative lack of identification with flowers that must be addressed by the industry.
• To differentiate florists from other retailers in terms of key attributes, such as quality and freshness.

• Only 1/3 of Gen Y are knowledgeable about the best places to buy flowers, significantly lower than other generations.
• Florists are challenged to maintain their distinctiveness and value as a retail option among this generation.

• To purchase mixed flowers and most likely to purchase individual flowers, including roses, tulips, lilies, daisies and orchids. This may indicate a new, individualized aesthetic relationship to flowers that could be leveraged.

Gen Y is most likely:

• To purchase flowers in person and deliver flowers themselves. This echoes a “personalization” trend in gifting characteristic of this generation.
• To purchase flowers to impress guests in their home, significantly higher than other generations. This indicates an opportunity to reposition the value of flowers for the younger consumer.

http://www.safnow.org/generations-of-flowers-study