Not sure how to price flowers for Valentine's Day? You're in the right place.
On our very first Valentine's Day, running our flower shop, all I had to go on was a list of last year's rose order from one of the regular wholesalers. I'm so grateful I at least had that much info, because it gave me a point of something to go on.
From there, I had to just figure it all out.
All. Of. It.
I had no idea what people liked to order or when they ordered or even how much they wanted to spend.
I felt so lost.
I mean I could sit here and paint y'all a picture of it all being sunshine and rainbows, but let's be honest. It was messy. Super duper scrappy, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, hopefully-never-to-be-repeated-again, sort of messy.
If I could wind back the clock, go back and have a little pep-talk with old me, I'd tell her to be intentional with how to price flowers for Valentine's Day.
In fact, here's exactly what I would do:
TIP 1: Price to the Equation
I was convinced there was no way I could charge that much. In Australia, our wholesale rose prices double around Valentine's Day. That really challenged me and all my limiting beliefs about money and pricing.
I was filled with so much doubt, so much hesitation when it came to raising my prices. I felt bad for charging those kinds of prices.
But then I started to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes. What happens at the growing side of things and what the rose farms needed to navigate and just how intense the pressure is for them.
At these peak trading periods, wholesalers and growers work around the clock, trying to tame Mother Nature and do everything in their power to deliver quality flowers on this one magical day of the year.
So much is out of their control and yet customers still demand they deliver. Of course, these days, navigating international logistics is at a whole new level of 'hard'.
Once I started to understand all the effort that went on behind the scenes, I really began to appreciate what this industry is being asked to do, how much pressure is on every single person all along the supply chain.
Me telling myself, "I couldn't charge that much", assuming my clients didn't want to pay a premium wasn't just hurting my business. It was hurting our staff. Our growers. The wholesalers. Every single person along the way.
It was also hurting our customers.
Once I started to realise it wasn't my job to judge whether or not I should price to the equation, I started to see how much more, what a better experience we could offer our clients.
Being able to offer best-in-class customer service, being able to hire another delivery person, and being able to navigate last-minute requests meant we were able to exceed our customer's expectations.
That was only possible after I finally sorted out my pricing.
It's time to let go of the judgement and the hesitation my friends.
It's time to decide the industry-standard approach to pricing works. It applies to florists of all shapes and sizes and is a proven model for making a profit.
In fact, it's one of the best gifts we've been given. It works. We don't need to spend hours upon hours doing all this fancy math.
And yes, it still applies on Valentine's Day too.
(If you need a refresher on pricing, check out this blog post: Florist Pricing Worksheets)
TIP 2: Your Customers Want to Spend Money
For me, one of the best lessons to learn about how to price bouquets for Valentine's Day was seeing how much humans love to spend money.
When I was younger, I always thought of Valentine's Day as a "Hallmark Holiday," something made up by a smart group of marketing people to make people buy more stuff (...actually, I still think that's true).
On a personal level, Valentine's Day isn't really my thing. Professionally though, if it makes customers happy, if it brings a smile to their face and gives them an ounce of joy, I'm here for it.
If it gets flowers in more customers' hands, sign me up! More humans need to experience the joy of flowers.
When it comes to spending money on Valentine's Day, I saw customer after customer after customer, hand over their cash, throw their credit cards at us and not ever hesitate when we would quote them $300 or $400.
Yes, there are new customers who are shocked at the prices but there's an equal number of customers who are excited to indulge, to spend over their budget and share their love.
If you struggle with confidence when it comes to pricing, decide to make Valentine's Day the time you challenge yourself, let go of your limiting beliefs around money and let go of the judgement you have on someone else's appetite or ability to pay a premium for beautiful blooms.
If your customers want to spend money, make it easy for them to spend money.
TIP 3: How to Price Flowers for Valentine's Day
When it comes to setting up your online catalogue and mapping out your offer for Valentine's Day, here is a basic framework to follow:
- Design 1: Bouquet of reds with a touch of pink or purple. Standard Size $147, Premium $195, Deluxe $254
- Design 2: Bouquet of pinks and burgundy tones. Standard Size $147, Premium $195, Deluxe $254
- Design 3: Vase arrangement of reds with a touch of pink or purple. Standard Size $187, Premium $243, Deluxe $316
- Design 4: Vase arrangement of pink and burgundy tones. Standard Size $187, Premium $243, Deluxe $316
- Design 5: Deluxe vase arrangement with small chocolates + bottle of prosecco $424
Now, if you're the type of designer who wants to use premium ingredients and has customers who spend more money, be ambitious with your pricing. Double what I've outlined above.
When it comes to how to price flowers for Valentine's Day, use this framework as your guide and go big.
One final note: yes wholesale prices are on the rise. It's not your job to carry the burden of supply chain issues. It's your job to level up your marketing and branding to align with the value you offer your clients.
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