Shop Local This Valentine's Day!

The majority of us participated in "Small Business Saturday" just after Black Friday this past holiday season. Although it's a great gesture to practice over the holidays, it's really something that should be practiced year round.

 

The majority of people order Valentine's Day Flowers from big box floral companies (Teleflora, FTD, etc) around this time of the year. Don't do it!

 

Shop At Your Local Floral Shop! You Won't Regret It.

 

There has been an industry struggle over the past few years in regards to local florists and the national wire services (Teleflora, FTD, etc). Many people don't realize that when they order flowers or gift from these wire services as opposed to directly from the local businesses, the following happens:

 

· The local florist that is filling the order is only receiving 40% of that sales transaction from the big box wire services. They are essentially losing money on many orders that come through this system, but at a time when floral shop sales are down, they take what they can get.

· The photo that most people see on wire service websites is not what your recipient will receive. The photo on the website is obviously created to draw the person in to make the purchase and is often showed at the "maximum bloom point". The maximum bloom point is the point where a fresh floral arrangement opens to full bloom and it is nearing the point where the flowers will no longer look fresh in just a few days to follow. When people receive the actual order, they are usually much fresher (but the flowers are slightly more closed) than what is pictured to ensure that they last longer. This does tend to upset people as they think that are getting ripped off by not getting exactly what is pictured on the website.

· Also, many large wire services work out of local warehouses during the busy holiday times. These arrangements are created in an assembly line style by people with little to no floral design experience. Or with some companies like 1-800 Flowers, they are often sent via UPS or Fedex to the recipient in no water and are not the greatest quality as they are tossed around in a delivery truck.

When you order from a local floral shop, you are working directly with the professional designers who will create the gift for your recipient because they have a passion for the business and for the art of floral design. As you shop around for the best Valentine's Day gift, remember to support your local businesses. They are here to help you and look forward to creating a great gift for your recipient on this romantic holiday and the others throughout the year.