Flora-Stats 1993

American Floral Endowment
CONSUMER FLORAL PURCHASES TRACKING STUDY

Highlights of Study - 1992-1993

Over half of American households (57%) purchased a floral product over the July 1992 through June 1993 period. Each buying household spent an average annual total of $43.69, making 3.7 purchases averaging $11.85 each.

The majority of the buyers came in for fresh flowers, at a 53% penetration level. They were in the market for fresh flowers 3.4 times over the course of the year, spending $11.77 each time on average — totaling to an annual outlay of $40.48 on fresh flowers.

The largest dollar volume outlets include supermarkets - at 14% of sales, garden centers — at 18% of sales, and most particularly florists — accounting for the dominant market share level of 34% of all flowers purchased in the July/June 1993 annual period. These dollar share relationships are dictated by the number of households purchasing and the amount that they were willing to spend at the outlet type.

• About 19% of households purchased flowers at a florist over the year. Buying households spent a total of $44.47 each, the highest spending observed with the exception of a $49.21 level posted by the toll-free number services. Consumer purchasing via toll-free numbers was chosen by less-than one percent of American households, so while on a price point basis it should be considered very direct competition to florists, the size disparity reduces the confrontation.
• At garden centers, the price point dropped considerably from that seen at florists, to an annual household spending level of $25.34. About 18% of American households visited garden centers and made a purchase over the year, fairly close to the penetration rate held by the florist channel of distribution. Therefore, it was primarily the lower spending rate which differentiated the garden center share from the higher level held by florists.
• The highest penetration rate seen for any single outlet type occurred at supermarkets, where 23% of U.S. households made a floral purchase… reflecting the food traffic convenience tie-in for this channel. Good penetration strength was, however, coupled with a very low per household annual expenditure rate of $14.41. The low expenditure rate was the result of a very high frequency of purchase (highest seen) with a very low per occasion expenditure of only $6.28, the lowest among the floral outlet types.

The strengths of each consumer distribution channel show up in an analysis of why consumers chose a particular outlet. The picture is very different across these three primary players, ranging from the satisfaction of a very high convenience need to product quality, reputation and selection.

• The supermarket is well positioned in two key attribute areas: convenience and price. Over the July 1992 through June 1993 period, 80% of this channel’s sales were tied to these, skewed especially strongly to convenience.
• Consumer floral purchasing at garden centers is most commonly associated with product quality and selection. However, together these two factors drive only about 50% of the garden center business — implying a much more dilute positioning scenario than seen for supermarkets. Price is also an important factor, with convenience and reputation not too far behind.
• Consumers visiting florist shops rely most heavily on convenience as the reason, with reputation as the second most important reason, and product quality coming in a distant third.

The largest share of consumer dollars was spent on non calendar occasions over the July 1992 through the June 1993 period, at 38% of total sales. Of these, the largest was contributed by sympathy/funeral occasions (8%), followed immediately by birthday (7%) and home decoration (7%). Almost as much spending was done for no special occasion at all (28% of floral expenditures) as was seen for particular occasions, while calendar events represented only 18% of sales, the largest of which, Christmas/Chanukah, was responsible for 6% of sales.

The demographics of the floral industry purchaser have been fairly stable over the course of the year to date. Purchasing is most heavily contributed bv older females, especially those aged 40 - 54 years of higher income levels. Regional differences in overall floral purchasing proved very minor when the entire year has been taken into consideration. Some above average purchasing appears to exist in the New England and the East North Central areas but at levels barely outside of the average range.

Cut flowers held the largest share of the consumer dollar, accounting for 41% of spending over the year. Outdoor bedding/garden plants accounted for another third; flowering house plants represented about 15%, and green plants finished up with an average of about 10% overall.

• Cut flowers were most likely to be mixed flowers, at 60% of sales. Roses were at about 22% of the consumer dollar, followed by carnations and other single flower types at half that level.
• The largest single variety of fresh flower ing house plant was found to be the poinsettia, accounting for 54% of sales in the Christmas season, but equaling out to 21% of all annual sales. The remaining mums, lilies, azaleas and African violets all came in at somewhat less than 10%. “Other” fresh flowering house plants represented 54% of consumer spending from the July 1992 through the June 1993 period.