How The Flower Industry Has Adapted With The Ongoing Pandemic

Few people could ever conceive that a global event would take place which would have as big an impact on business as the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Even back in 2008 when the world financial crisis hit, we didn’t see the volume of sectors impacted in the same way that they have been over the last 18 months. There have been some big casualties in business during this time and in particular the tourism and hospitality sector has faced the hardest time in its history.

The difference with this global crisis has been that every single sector has been forced to change the way that it worked, in order to survive, and to try and thrive wherever possible. This has certainly been true of the flower industry, which is one area of business which has had to shift and maneuver in order to meet the demands of a world that looked more different than ever before. Each industry had different challenges to face, and the flower industry is no different. Once upon a time a flower delivery from Pearsons Florist was a common and simple act, but the pandemic forced these businesses to change. Here is how the florists around the world were forced to adapt during a pandemic which may not yet be over.

Pulled From Both Ends

The floristry industry has faced one of the oddest challenges during this time, in that demand was rising as production slowed. When we were all forced into lockdown these businesses were still able to sell flowers and deliver them. In fact in many cases sales boomed as more and more people reached out to loved ones around the world, making their presence felt with flower deliveries. This may sound great from a business standpoint, but this was met with a great slow down in production. Those who grow and cut the flowers were not allowed to work, which meant that many florists couldn’t meet the rising demand.

Ramping Up Delivery Products

There is no doubt that the last 18 months has forced managers in so many businesses around the world to get creative when it came to selling products, and flower shops were no different. What we saw many innovative shop owners do was to increase the range of products that it could deliver with the flowers. We are accustomed to seeing add-ons such as chocolates with plants and flowers, yet now we were seeing more ornate hampers and gift baskets which people could buy. This was done in order to increase sales, which it did, and also to supplement for the range of flowers which these florists were now not able to count on.

Limited Options

Even once flower growers were able to get out and work, we saw a big change in the range of items which they were delivering. The focus switched to flowers which would grow fastest and which would require less interaction. This limited the stock in the florists yet it did enable them to get the volume of freshly cut flowers which they needed in order to meet demand. Whilst customers had less of a choice, there were no complaints from them as they simply wanted to show their loved ones that they cared. Some of the international flower delivery companies were able to offer a larger range, yet that was mainly because they often supply themselves with the flowers.

Tough Decisions

Much like every other sector, those hit hardest in the flower industry were the small businesses. Regrettably there have been some which have been forced to close their doors for good, and of course the hope is that they can bounce back from that. Even those which did survive were forced to make some very tough decisions, and we have sadly seen many staff losing their jobs in order to cut costs in the business. There is some good news here however and that is the fact that as things have opened up, many of those small businesses have been able to rehire those who they were forced to let go. Regardless of how things panned out however, these choices and conversations created a great deal of heartache for both employees and store owners.

Funeral Flowers

Whilst it is an incredibly grim and morbid fact, we have to accept that the volume of deaths has increased greatly during the last 18 months because of the pandemic. Whilst funerals were often private affairs, flowers were still heavily used for coffins and for funeral processions. The sale of flowers such as white lilies has increased by an incredible percentage over the last 18 months, and many flower shop owners have commented on how tired they became of creating these sad wreaths for the departed.

Delivery Options

Not all flower shops deliver, and many local, small and independent stores used to have buy in-store only. Once the pandemic and lockdown kicked in however we saw a huge array of these stores opening up for deliveries, and creating online presences so that they could take orders via the web. In a lot of cases we saw flower shop owners working by themselves, to deliver bouquets around their local area. This was the perfect example of how so many literally did whatever it took to keep their business alive and keep the money coming in.

Charity

In more heartwarming news, we have seen a huge range of reports of charitable donations which many flower shops gave to people in their community who were vulnerable and who were on their own. his mainly happened in the beginning of the pandemic when florists would rather see their products put a smile on someone’s face rather than wilt away. This is just one of thousands of lovely stories about people showing their human nature and trying to come together in order to help out those in the community who struggled most throughout this pandemic.

Each sector and industry has faced a huge amount of challenges over the last 18 months and in order to survive they were all forced to change the way in which they worked. Those who are still standing, are those who made smart decisions at the right time.

This article does not necesarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the managment of EconoTimes