As Michael LoBue indicates in his recent post Why do consumers buy flowers?, CalFlowers commissioned a consumer marketing and research firm to perform a study to help us understand not only why consumers buy flowers, but also why they don’t buy more flowers.
The study shows that lapsed (infrequent) flower buyers first think of flowers as romantic, while active (more frequent) flower buyers first think of them as exciting.
These results suggest that the infrequent, or lapsed, flower buyer’s view that flowers are romantic limits their flower purchases to prescribed holidays, ie. Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, anniversaries, etc.
Conversely, the active buyer has a broader view of the role flowers can play in their friends’, families’, and their own lives.
When asked “Why do you purchase flowers?”, active buyers indicate they buy to give to someone else, and their other responses point to the many personal benefits they derive from buying flowers for themselves, ie. “To feel happy”.
As we evaluated which group to select as the audience of an advertising campaign – lapsed buyers or active buyers – we decided on people who regularly buy flowers, whether for themselves or for others. These people are more likely to obtain flowers outside of the traditional flower holidays and enjoy their benefits throughout the year.
