![\"Mother\u2019s](\"https:\/\/endowment.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/imported-files\/pexels-photo-2072162.jpeg\")
As we hop out of Easter, we have another great opportunity for a mother lode of sales and profits before the Fall season-Mother\u2019s Day 2021. With effective ordering, merchandising, and salesmanship through this year\u2019s pandemic, each business will be able to hold court as the \u201cprettiest child\u201d among some of the best marketers in the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The good news is that public demand for plants and flowers is at an all-time high! \u00a0<\/span>But without a doubt, we have new challenges that are hitting us from all sides: product availability, higher costs, labor shortages, and building new touch-free strategies that make customers feel safe and secure.\u00a0<\/span>The additional challenge before us every year is re-energizing our store with fresh and unique Mother\u2019s Day products so a customer who purchased Easter flowers for mom will be enticed six weeks later to purchase another floral gift for her. \u00a0<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Here are some ideas that will help create an upward trajectory for Mother\u2019s Day 2021:<\/strong><\/p> There\u2019s nothing worse than a flower shop that looks like a mashup of old Valentine\u2019s Day, St Patrick\u2019s Day, Administrative Professionals Day, and Easter products weeks after the holidays are over. For every old product that\u2019s still sitting in a store after its selling prime, valuable space is lost for new, seasonally relevant products that will drive sales and profits for Mother\u2019s Day. Yes, there\u2019s a financial loss when throwing away distressed merchandise; however, there\u2019s a double loss of missed revenue and reduced profit dollars when unsellable products dominate a store\u2019s primary space. If a product is dead, distressed, seasonally irrelevant, and cannot be converted to the season\u2026\u2026let it go!<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> A quick change-up of merchandise that\u2019s still in good condition will refresh and uplift the store between holiday shipments. New pot covers, wraps, ribbons, balloons, and picks will make everything new again, and customers who previously would have walked by these items without a second glance will now look at them with new eyes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Many people think Valentine\u2019s Day offers the most sales potential, but that\u2019s not the case- not by a wide margin. Only 54.9 percent of people celebrate Valentine\u2019s Day while a whopping 84.2 percent celebrate Mother\u2019s Day, the National Retail Federation (NRF) reports. But do Valentine shoppers spend more? Absolutely not! Valentine shoppers spend an average of $142 while Mother\u2019s Day purchasers spend an average of $173, the NRF reveals. Mother\u2019s Day in the United States is worth $21.2 billion, versus the value of Valentine\u2019s Day sales at $18.9 billion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> So, Mother\u2019s Day must be approached even more aggressively than Valentine\u2019s Day with a well-planned ordering budget. With Valentine\u2019s Day 2021 having fallen on a Sunday, this is a perfect year to double down on Mother\u2019s Day selling to regain sales that might have been lost due to a weekend holiday. How many $173 Mother\u2019s Day gifts are in your store? Think about it!\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s the \u201caverage\u201d Mother\u2019s Day expenditure!<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> When ordering accessories and enhancements, be sure to include picks, cardettes, and balloons with sentiments for \u201cother mothers\u201d such as stepmothers, wives, daughters, sisters, grandmothers, godmothers, and friends. These gift choices will encourage multiple purchasing which is at an all-time high during the Mother\u2019s Day holiday. Displays with an assortment of price-points will encourage multiple purchasing, called \u201cbundling\u201d, and will also increase average spend per customer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Expand signage and other promotional efforts at each customer \u201ctouch-point\u201d within the store, displayed at least four weeks in advance for optimal effectiveness: front doors, outdoor displays, bag stuffers, service desk, website, employee badges, and many other areas. Be sure to list all of the special services that are offered in your store in addition to the beautiful products you sell.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> The NRF reports that 80.0 percent of the population purchases greeting cards for Mother\u2019s Day, making them the single most popular gift for the holiday. Flowers come in second in popularity at 67.2 percent. The fourth most popular Mother\u2019s Day purchase is gift cards (a special outing is in third place). \u00a0 <\/span>Do your greeting cards need to be refreshed?\u2026.. how about candy?\u2026.. how about gift cards? \u00a0<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Create a social media plan with your marketing department to make sure customers are engaged, interactive, and ultimately inspired to purchase Mother\u2019s Day gifts from your store. Customers will be looking for your touch-free plan to keep them safe.\u00a0 <\/span>Try using your front sidewalk or parking lot to create drive-through ordering and pick-up.\u00a0 <\/span>How about calling it your Mother\u2019s Day Drive-BUY!\u00a0<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Interested in other best practices to support and market YOUR floral business?<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> By Cindy Hanauer,<\/em>\u00a0Trustee Emeritus; American Floral Endowment<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","news-categories":[31,29,41],"class_list":["post-3706","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","news-categories-latest-news","news-categories-news","news-categories-florist-event"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/endowment.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pexels-photo-1488310.jpeg\")
<\/a>Ship holiday hard goods and enhancements early, so they\u2019re available for the big conversion process the week following the previous holiday. The sooner all remaining sellable products are converted, the sooner those upgrade profits will be lifting that ever-so-important bottom line. Don\u2019t forget to dig out any Mother\u2019s Day back stock from previous years to keep inventory moving.<\/p><\/a>Did you know that the NRF says 33.4 percent of the population will visit a department store rather than a florist for a Mother\u2019s Day gift? The special gift services we provide in our stores mean the difference between a florist-purchase gift versus any other gift purchased in a department store. Do you custom-design? Shout it out! Do you gift wrap? Shout it out! Do you deliver? Shout it out!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>