Friday, March 7, 2008

Flowers in a recession

A number of people have asked me lately about the impact of the recession on the floral industry. Obviously, an economic slowdown will impact retail sales in a couple of ways.

First, the business that comes from big companies will decrease. As a big company downsizes, or tightens its belt, the flower orders will go down a bit. Maybe they cut out a company party or stop sending birthday bouquets. This definitely has an impact on your local flower shop, which in turn has an impact on the flower wholesaler, and ultimately, the farms that grow the flowers.

Second, the business from individuals is also impacted. People are losing jobs, record numbers of houses are in foreclosure and gas is going to $4 a gallon. Even the people whose jobs and houses aren't affected get nervous with all of the bad news coming out every day. This generally means that people may send flowers a little less often, or will send something but spend a little less money.

The good news is that flowers are an inexpensive way to brighten up someone's day. There aren't that many other ways to spend a small amount of money and still make someone feel good. The flower shops that have provided great value and great customer service and that have supported their community during the good years should emerge from this downturn stronger than ever. That's why Visser's has been here for 51 years.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's no wonder Visser's Flowers has been in OC for over a half century. Their flower arrangements are absolutely beautiful! The service is top-notch as well. Flowers always arrive on time and in pristine condition. With so many choices, I feel I have no worries with Visser's.
They are hands down the BEST.