As we approach this important Valentine’s Day sales period, we all rely on our industry experience, our understanding of the conditions that affect our individual businesses, and our anticipation of the demand we will see for our beautiful products from the consumer base to form profitability expectations.

This year, in particular, there seems to be a daunting combination of factors that have caused many to reduce their expectations of what to expect for Valentine’s Day.  Wouldn’t it be nice if our industry’s customers were given a voice in the process so that some of the “guess-work” could be removed from the equation?

Fortunately, the consumer has been asked and has responded.

The National Retail Federation’s 2009 Valentine’s Day Consumer Actions and Intentions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, shows that even though our anticipation of a downward shift in sales volume may be accurate, the shift will likely not be nearly as precipitious as many had thought.

Here is an excerpt from the source article that specifically addresses fresh flowers:

When it comes to spending, most people will still buy traditional favorites even though they plan to spend less. Over one-third (35.7%) of people will buy flowers, nearly the same as last year’s 35.9 percent,…

So, as you are making the important decisions that affect your Valentine’s Day profitability - product needs, staffing, community outreach/advertising, production plans -  consider that you may expect to generate the same number of transactions as you have in years past.

Thanks to WF&FSA for publicizing these survey results.

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