Flora-Stats Annual Report 1996
American Floral Endowment
CONSUMER FLORAL PURCHASES TRACKING STUDY
1996 Flora-Stats Annual Report
Where Consumers Made Floral Purchases And Why
BUYING INCREASED
Consumer purchases of floral products increased in this latest annual period ending August, 1996. The growth in purchase occasions made by consumers fully recovered the number lost in the prior two annual periods. Further) the number of purchase transactions was higher this year for all major product segments except Flowering House Plants.
BUYERS OF ALL AGES and INCOMES BOUGHT MORE
The lift in floral product buying this year was noted across all age groups, young, middle aged and older. The increase in purchases made was broadly based when considering the affluence of the customer as well. Virtually all household income groups made more purchases this past year. However, the highest rates of increase occurred among the heavier buying, more affluent households (incomes of $60,000 yr. and above) and then, too.) from a lower middle group ($15,000 - $25,000).
CONSUMERS ARE USING NON-TRADITIONAL OUTLETS
While the benefit of higher floral buying was felt by nearly all outlet types, some of the less developed outlets obtained significant shares of the added transactions. Home Centers/Hardware Stores, for example, are where nearly one in five of the incremental purchase occasions occurred. The combined group of "Other" outlets (Craft, Hobby Stores, outdoor markets) etc.) gained nearly as many of the additional purchases. In the case of Home Improvement/Hardware Stores, their rapid unit expansion is seen to be driving their growth in importance to this market, as all of the increase in purchase occasions traced to the attraction of more buyers. They are now more easily accessible to more households.
WHERE CONSUMERS CHOSE TO MAKE THEIR PURCHASE AND WHY
Study respondents have a list of nine reasons to choose from as they tell us why they purchased from a particular outlet. Viewing the trend in these responses indicates why a particular type of outlet was chosen to receive more transactions this year.
Outdoor Bedding Plants
Consumers increased their buying of outdoor bedding plants at all outlet types except Supermarkets. Here is the rank order of transactions gained: Garden Centers, then the combined group of Other Outlets, Home Improvement/Hardware Stores and Discount Chains. Three reasons accounted for more buying at Garden Centers: Price (which had been declining as a reason to shop there until this year), Convenience and "Other". At Home Centers, Convenience drove the increase in buying and that is certainly reasonable considering their broadened availability. For the second year in a row, Convenience was cited as particularly supporting more purchases of Outdoor Bedding Plants at Chain Discount Stores.
Fresh Cut Flowers
Half of the increases in consumer purchases of Fresh Cut Flowers this year occurred at Florist Shops. The reason Florist Shops were selected for the added Fresh Cut Flower buying was the Florist’s Reputation and Product Quality. Convenience, which holds the highest share of all reasons (30%), gave way to Reputation and Quality this year. Supermarkets also benefited from higher Fresh Cut Flower buying. Convenience and Price are the primary reasons given for buying Fresh Cut Flowers in Supermarkets. Price had been slipping in its share of transactions until this year. For the annual period ending this August, Price was given as the reason for buying Fresh Cut Flowers in Supermarkets on 23% of the occasions the highest share for that reason to date.
Artificial/Dried Flowers
Discount Chains and the group of "Other" outlets are where most Artificial/Dried Flowers
are bought. The large majority of the lift in buying Artificial/Dried Flowers this year occurred in the combined group of "Other" outlets. These include Craft and Hobby Stores. Price and Product Quality received mentions as reasons to buy in these places this year more than last. Here, too., Price as the selection criteria had been declining until this year.
Foliage Plants
More Foliage Plants were purchased in Discount Chains and Home Improvement/ Hardware Stores this year. In both cases, consumers mentioned "Selection" as the reason for choosing these outlet groups more often this year than last.
Flowering House Plants
This is the one product segment that did not do well this year. In particular, fewer purchases of Flowering House Plants were made in Discount Chains, Garden Centers and Supermarkets. As this occurred, these reasons for choosing an outlet suffered share of purchase losses: Discount Chains Convenience and, to a much lesser extent, Product Quality; Garden Centers Selection and Reputation. Supermarkets are used for the Convenience offered and the Price, the importance of these reasons for selection did not change from last year.
SUMMARY: WHERE THEY’RE BUYING AND WHY
Consumers are buying more while using more distribution channels. The traditional Florist Shops fared well on the strength of their Reputation and Product Quality. Garden Centers gained transactions and customers gave Price as the reason. Home Improvement/ Hardware Stores are adding to the market as customers find it increasingly easy to reach them. The combined group of "Other" outlets are receiving more transactions as well with customers pleased with both the Price and Product Quality. Discount Chains continue to fill a Convenience need for the customer. It was a year of regaining lost ground and the recovery was felt broadly across product segments and distribution channels.
RECEIVING CONSUMER
Two options exist to gain access and use Consumer Study data Level I and Specific Data Query Services.
Level I- Designed for companies with xpertise and capabilities to utflize the comprehensive data collected.
- Receive all data collected
- Receive comprehensive data tables monthly, quarterly, annually Receive over 90 chart decks highlighting study results quarterly, annually
- Receive broad usage rights
- Qualify for on-site installation and use of speciaUy designed computer database for powerful and flexible information manage
Level I Annual Fee = $25,000; PowerView option add $5,000 annually. (Level I user receives study data at a fraction of cost and value. Level I annual fee represents about 10% of the expense if a company were to commission this study directly and pay total annual cost.)
Specific Data Query Services
- Designed to allow any industry member access to a small or large amount of data based on specific query needs and parameters
- Receive specifically created information based on query request on a regular basis or single occasion
- Query requests can be made by utilizing services offered by the following Level I users licensed by the Endowment
Florists’ Transworld Defivery Association (FTDA)
Colombia Flower Council (CFC)
Society of American Florists (SAF)
Cost varies depending on query request.
PowerView database is a specially designed program to manage and analyze this data. This tool allows limitless crosstabbing of data for customized queries and reports.
