A Valentine’s Day consumer poll commissioned by the Society of American Florists indicates a slight drop in the number of consumers who purchased holiday flowers and plants this year and a dip in overall spending — but also points to sales opportunities in key categories, including plants.
A quarter of American adults chose flowers or plants as a Valentine’s Day gift this year, according to the new Ipsos poll, conducted on behalf of SAF on February 18. The number is a small decrease from previous years — 28 percent in 2019 and 2018 and 29 percent in 2017 — and represents the latest data point the national trade association is using to benchmark this year’s Friday holiday.
The poll, which relied on a sample of 1,003 American adults, ages 18 and older, found that the median amount spent on flowers or plants for Valentine’s Day this year dropped to $30, compared to $40 in 2019, 2018 and 2017 and $30 in 2015. (SAF did not commission the survey in 2016.) The average (or mean) amount spent also decreased this year, to $58.90, after rising each year for four years: $70.20 in 2019; $69.40 in 2018; $58.70 in 2017; and $51.80 in 2015.
SAF CEO Kate Penn said the decreases could reflect Valentine’s Day timing this year — situated on the Friday of a three-day weekend this year, a positioning that is notoriously challenging for retail florists. (In 2014, the last time Valentine’s Day fell on a Friday, SAF’s consumer poll found that the median amount spent on flowers and plants was $40 — compared to $35 in 2013 — with about 23 percent of U.S. adults buying floral gifts for the holiday.)
Read more at the Society of American Florists (Sheila Santiago)