US: Ups and downs in Administrative Professionals Week flower sales

Partnerships, persistence and patience. Those three attributes seem to be a common thread among florists who experienced success last year with Administrative Professionals Week — an annual event many in the industry say is becoming less and less of a floral celebration.

“We did not expect to have many orders for APW as the holiday has seemed to dwindle in sales for a number of years,” wrote a florist in Georgia, in response to a Society of American Florists’ member survey after the 2016 holiday. “We were pleasantly surprised to see orders coming in, mostly the day of, last minute.”

In fact, about 35 percent of respondents to that survey said APW sales were on par with their 2015 results. About 33 percent said sales decreased, and 29 percent saw an increase. (Many respondents noted the last-minute nature of orders that did come in.)

About 37 percent of respondents said the number of APW transactions remained on par with 2015 transactions. Thirty percent said they decreased; a quarter saw an increase. (The average transaction for APW was about $45, roughly on par with 2015 numbers.)

Read more at safnow.org