Dive Brief:
- Retailers are trying to change the perception that flowers bought from the grocery store aren’t nice enough to be used at weddings, according to Supermarket News.
- Grocery flower shops are starting to offer the same services that specialty florists do, such as delivery and setup on the wedding day.
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A joint survey conducted by the Produce Marketing Association and the Food Marketing Institute showed that 44% of supermarket floral directors are planning to emphasize wedding sales in 2017.
Dive Insight:
According to business data released by the latest Census report, more than 40% of America’s flower shops have gone out of business, with only about 13,765 still in business.
It only makes sense that floral departments in grocery stores are trying to capture the customers who once frequented the neighborhood florist. And considering that the average bride spent $2,141 on wedding flowers according to a survey done by wedding planning website The Knot, weddings are lucrative space for any flower business.
Grocers are a logical place to buy flowers for a wedding or special occasion because grocery stores are convenient, and most of them have a large selection on display. Plus, they have the staff to handle any size of job and people can count on their experience with deliveries.
Of course, there is still a stigma about buying wedding flowers from the same place someone is buying their lunch meat and toilet paper. Plus, at a dedicated flower shop, the florist is usually someone who has experience in creating special bouquets and can answer questions about the long-term appearance and scent of flowers. At a grocery store, the person behind the florist counter could be a bag boy that was pulled from the checkout line because things got busy.
However, grocery store flowers are able to compete with a flower shop on look and price. Florists can help brides plan their special day with pre-made packages. And several web tutorials are out there to show budget-minded brides how to make grocery store flowers into wedding-worthy bouquets. Grocery stores themselves can get into the trend, offering tutorials, instructions or even workshops for wedding parties. This will position them as a flower shop ready and able to handle the occasion, as well as a fun pre-wedding activity for the bride and her friends.