Note: This P&P consumer floral research utilizes the latest U.S. household projections for 2015 to 2020 from estimates determined by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University (McCue, 2014). The P&P consumer floral research from 2007 to 2013 was sponsored by Smithers-Oasis North America (SONA). P&P thank SONA for their financial support in making this research possible, providing benefit for the entire floral industry.
Sunday, May 13th, 2018 is Mother’s Day, and on this day, just over 56 million U.S. households will have made fresh floral purchases for a well-deserving mom! So says Prince & Prince (P&P), a leader in market research focused on the floral and green plant industries. P&P also project that for Mother’s Day 2018, the total U.S. market value of all consumer floral purchasing at retail will approximate $4.4 billion dollars, including all fresh floral products (fresh cut flowers, including roses, arrangements, bouquets, bunches, single stems, and corsages, and indoor potted flowering and foliage plants & planters) and any associated delivery/ service fees. The 2018 P&P U.S. market projection value is just about $200 million more than P&P’s 2017 Mother’s Day estimate (Prince & Prince, 2017). According to P&P market survey estimates, Mother’s Day is the largest of "floral holidays" for the U.S. floral industry, in terms of consumer dollar spending on floral products (Valentine’s Day being second; Prince & Prince, 2018). In addition, more floral-buying households in the U.S. purchase floral products for Mother's Day than any other holiday, event, or occasion of floral purchase throughout the year. P&P also project that each floral-purchasing household, on average, will spend over $78 on floral products for Mother’s Day 2018, including all household members that make a floral purchase, with associated delivery/ service fees included.
The celebration of the Mother’s Day holiday with fresh floral products also tends to garner the biggest floral spenders, those households that spend the most dollars on floral products annually. Figure 1 shows P&P survey data of the household incidence of floral purchase for Mother’s Day among all floral-buying households segmented by the level of annual household floral spending. The term, “incidence of purchase” means the purchase of one or more floral products by the household for the Mother’s Day holiday for a particular year. Figure 1 clearly shows that the highest incidence of floral purchase for Mother’s Day is among the biggest floral spenders, those spending $251 to $500 annually (74%), and those spending over $500 annually on floral products (70%). Compared to the U.S. market average of 61%, theses two highest floral-spending groups have a significantly greater likelihood of purchase for Mother’s Day than all other floral-spending groups. And these “big spenders” collectively represent about one-fifth of all consumer floral buyers. While this “big spenders” trend is also seen to some extent with other floral holidays, events, and occasions, no other holiday, event, or occasion, of the 24 measured in the P&P survey, matches or exceeds the 74% and 70% purchase incidence of these big spending groups for Mother’s Day. This market finding suggests that given the consumer demographics of a particular market, the product offerings of floral retailers for Mother’s Day should likely be skewed toward offerings that meet the expectations of these big floral spenders. Seasoned florists likely know best how to cultivate their prime customers for the Mother’s Day holiday.
About the P&P U.S. Consumer Floral Tracking Survey
Prince & Prince has been tracking U.S. consumer floral purchasing behavior for Mother’s Day, and floral purchasing for 23 other holidays, events, and occasions, over the past two decades with their periodic surveys of floral-buying households (over 6,000 randomly-selected households surveyed since the initial survey in 1996, as well as surveys in 1998, 2000, 2007, 2010, and 2013; Prince & Prince, 2014). Thus, P&P is able to identify salient consumer floral-purchasing trends over time for the floral industry. P&P’s latest update of the U.S. consumer floral tracking survey is scheduled for later this Summer/ Fall (see below).
From the P&P databases of historical household floral purchasing, P&P is able to track consumer floral trends overall, for specific holidays, events, and occasions, and by specific consumer demographic segment (U.S. regions, urbanization, age of householder, household income, educational attainment, singles, and presence of children, teenagers, and retirees in the household). With this robust and comprehensive database of several thousand randomly-selected floral-buying household over 6 time periods, P&P has the ability to model, track, and make fairly accurate future projections for each of the 100+ floral metrics captured in the P&P survey. For nearly every survey metric, P&P can determine if the data series over time represents a significant linear increasing trend (or decreasing trend), and the slope of that trend, or a quadratic trend (suggesting an increasingly building trend upward or downward), or a cubic or higherorder polynomial trend (multiple inflection points (up & down) in the data series), or simply no trend at all. P&P can relay these statistically-validated historical floral-product and occasion/ holiday trends to their clients in the floral industry, who can then incorporate this salient market information into their business and marketing strategies.
2018 P&P Consumer Floral Tracking Survey Update
Prince & Prince is currently seeking research co-sponsors for a 2018 update of the P&P U.S. Consumer Floral Tracking Survey. This consumer research reveals the types of consumers who buy fresh floral products, what they buy, where they buy, when they buy, why they buy, & how much they spend on fresh cut flowers & indoor potted flowering and foliage plants & planters (specific survey content at the P&P web site). The 2018 survey will be the seventh national P&P consumer floral tracking survey conducted by P&P over the past 22 years. For 2018, the P&P consumer survey will employ a “mixed-mode” survey distribution, utilizing both mail and Internet-based survey methodologies, to obtain the most representative and valid survey information (Dillman et al., 2014).
P&P research co-sponsors receive the consumer floral market information first thru a one-day, on-site seminar with Q&A, and the complete 800+ slide market research presentation on a flash drive. The on-site seminar is tailored to the information needs of the individual research co-sponsor. Co-sponsors also receive exclusivity of the consumer floral information for a one-year period, following completion of the research. Interested companies should contact P&P shortly for research sponsorship opportunities.
Dillman, D.A., Smyth, J.D. and Christian, L.M. (2014). Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed- Mode Surveys (Fourth Edition). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
McCue, D. (2014). Baseline Household Projections for the Next Decade and Beyond. Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University. Prince, T.L. and Prince, T.A. (2018). Prince & Prince Forecast 44 Million U.S. Households To Make Floral Purchases for Valentine’s Day 2018, Columbus, OH: Prince & Prince, Inc. (P&P Market Report).
Prince, T.L. and Prince, T.A. (2017). Prince & Prince Project a $4.2 Billion Dollar U.S. Consumer Floral Market for Mother’s Day 2017. Columbus, OH: Prince & Prince, Inc. (P&P Market Report).
Prince, T.L. and Prince, T.A. (2014). The Prince & Prince U.S. Consumer Floral Tracking Survey, 2014 Edition. Columbus, OH: Prince & Prince, Inc (On-Site Seminar and Seminar on Flash).
About the Authors
Drs. Tom and Tim Prince, formerly of The Ohio State University, are brothers and co-founders of Prince & Prince, Inc. (P&P), a leading marketing research specialist in the floral and green plant industries. The brothers have expertise in both horticultural experimental research and consumer survey research, and often combine both modes of research in their unique research project designs. P&P has completed more than 75 major marketing research projects and countless reports for the floral industry in the U.S., and has also conducted floral market projects in Canada, the United Kingdom, Holland, Germany, and Spain. P&P conceptualize, design, and implement market research projects for floral and green-plant suppliers, hardgood suppliers, floral importers, wholesale florists, retail florists, floral mass-marketers, floral-industry associations, and companies serving the allied floral trade. Recent projects include an assessment of product attribute valuation for potted orchids in supermarkets, and a U.S. market assessment of consumer and commercial demand trends for tropical cut flowers, with emphasis on cymbidium orchids and Bird-of Paradise. For more information, visit the P&P web site at www.FloralMarketResearch.com, or e-mail Tom at FloralMktResearch@att.net
Source: Prince & Prince, Inc.