Waitrose closure … celebration or valuable lesson?
Am I doing a happy dance because Waitrose have pulled out of online gift flowers. Absolutely not! Yes it’s potentially interesting that there will be a few more orders up for grabs but it also highlights some serious thoughts.
Because whilst Waitrose may say in the news story (here) it’s about focussing on other key areas, in truth it’s a fairly obvious message that selling flowers isn’t that easy and that the return on investment (ROI) is challenging.
Heck you only have to look at the accounts for the big online players like Bloom & Wild, Prestige, Arena et al to see how hard it is. Based on 2023 figures not one of the – mostly Venture Capital backed - online order companies made a profit. Indeed, some of them made HUGE losses as the impact of falling sales, higher flower prices, cost of living crises/falling consumer confidence and weakening customer loyalty kicked in.
It also begs the question as to who will get the floating orders? The story The Telegraph ran implied it was Interflora nipping at Waitrose’s heels. Quite possibly - they are holding their own - but truth is those big players will be using Christmas to try and turn their fortunes so will be spending huge amounts on Pay per Click (PPC) to get orders. And by huge we are talking (apparently) anything between £3 and £10 per key search term word – per day – which if just clicked on once can mount up to hundreds of pounds to get one £45 order! Order generation is a tough and expensive world!
So where does this leave independent retail florists. To me potentially in a very good place – but only if lessons are learned and fingers are pulled out!
Because whilst you may have a small ‘tee hee’ moment that a major name has left the floral gifting market, you must also think ‘Whoa! if Waitrose can’t make it work well enough to stick with it, what do I need to do?’
Loads … and all helped and made easier because you are local, in the heart of the community and – I am assuming – bally good at what you do.
However, whilst I can give you a zillion ideas (well 43 to be precise – you can read it here!) only YOU can make it happen.
I know only too well that the world of flower selling is more challenging than ever, but it isn’t impossible and not everyone needs to give up. In fact as I said in my recent podcast with Joe Massie and Matthew Landers the good old days may be over but there are plenty of good new days on offer if you want them.
Go grab them by the antlers ... hey it is nearly Christmas!
Want to know what makes me tick ... how I got into floristry and didn't become a nun and why I am as passionate about the industry now as I ever have been? Listen to this podcast.
