Here is a list of insights that will help your business bloom over the festive period. Wreaths are a good option for early December but will continue to sell throughout, however, most consumers visiting Floom will still look for flowers during the holiday period. Hampers also become a good option in the weeks and months before Christmas, with consumers looking for gifts they can send to their loved ones. Consider items that could help shoppers find added significance, spread joy, or summon a little extra sparkle this season.
The holiday season at a glance 👀
The festive period typically isn't great for florists, mainly because shoppers swap flowers for other kinds of gifts. In the run-up to Christmas last year, we saw a large increase to month-on-month orders. In fact, over the past two years of lockdown, December has seen a spike in orders. With this in mind, it is important to reserve caution as we head into the holiday season.
What type of items? 🎅
Flowers over Christmas are still dominant, with over 85% of products purchased over this period being flowers sent to loved ones. As expected, however, there is still a huge increase in wreath and trees and hampers categories. The dramatic increase of wreaths and trees are to be expected in November as we move from off-season to peak season, however, the increase in sales of the ever-present hampers show that consumers either came to Floom last year to purchase Christmas gifts or have been swayed to make such a purchase when browsing the site.
Flowers 💐
Our best-selling flowers remain the same as we move into the holiday period, with roses being the top searched stem despite a slight decrease over the festive period. Elsewhere, common winter products such as eucalyptus, chrysanthemums, and hydrangeas see an increase in interest compared to September and October; tulips take the fourth spot as the most popular stem of the season and increase in interest by 18% over the late autumnal and early winter period.
Wreaths and Trees 🌲
Interested in selling wreaths and trees? While they only make up a small percentage of sales on Floom.com, if you have extra stock, or are planning on selling through other channels, there is still a demand for these products. It's important to note that wreaths and trees have a similar purchase period beginning during the middle of November. Some wreath sales may be a carry-over from Thanksgiving, but it is unusual to see such an early demand for these products as typically fresh wreaths purchased within November would not last until Christmas day. Hamper demand is more typical of a holiday-centered purchase, with sales beginning during late November and peaking the week before Christmas.
The average order values for each category are slightly different, so if you're having trouble pricing, we've provided a helpful snapshot. Our flowers, plants and hamper average prices do not change over the holiday period, while wreaths and trees are slightly more expensive than the former two categories but still less than hampers.
If you're interested in inspiration, we've already got our Christmas, wreath, and tree pages live for this holiday period for you to take inspiration from florists who have live products up already.