5 Great Reasons to Deliver Valentine's Flowers Early

1.       I'm a guy. 

      Procrastination is my middle name. 

Canada roses & alstromeria vase

      Come Valentine's Day, I probably wait until the last minute, and get really disappointed...even ANGRY when a florist can't "get 'er done".

      Here's 5 great reasons to order your Valenitne's Day gift for delivery A DAY EARLY (for Wednesday, February 13th):

1. Your "Valentine" will be the centre of attention at home or in the workplace, while others are still waiting...and hoping...all Valentine's Day.
2. Your Valentine will know you thought of them early, and it was not a "last minute" effort on Valentine's Day.
3. Deliveries can happen at any time throughout the day on the 14th at NO specific time, while your Valentine will feel loved all Valentine's Day.
4. Remember: The unexpected gets more "brownie points".
5. We sell out of roses & most flowers every year. Ordering & delivering early avoids any chance at disappointment!

This year, don't be the typical guy. Try ordering your Valentine's roses for delivery a day early.

A Happy Valentine's Day often means a Happy Valentine's night!!

3 Reasons Why Rose Prices Skyrocket at Valentine's Day

We all know it's going to happen.

After all, it's happened every year in the 20 years we've been in business.

Rose prices go through the roof at Valentine's Day.

There are 3 reasons for it:

1. The grower/farm increases the price of roses.
2. Which in turn causes the wholesaler to increase their prices.
3. In the end, the florist must up their price to the consumer.

 3 pink rose bud vase

The key is that it all starts with the farms. Throughout the year, farms barely cover their costs. But they see a chance to make money when virtually everybody wants roses. And that time is Valentine's Day.

That's when the prices from the farm double!

 
We hear all the excuses from the growers. There was a cold snap. There was a heat wave. There was a drought. There was a flood.

The list of excuses goes on and on...but they really never change.

The reality is that this is the one time of the year when growers can make a profit. It's that profit that sustains the farms throughout the rest of the year.

But imagine if the florist passed this increase onto their customer...doubling their prices! It's easy to see that the rose market would disappear pretty quickly.

Yes, florists increase their prices for roses in Canada somewhat at Valentine's Day. We have to. But we certainly can't double prices for two or three weeks in February.

We florists have to hope that the volume of roses being sold will make up for smaller margins.

But there's no guarantee.

At face value the reasons for increased rose prices is simple, but it's really hard to explain to our customers.

We get flack because the florist is the face of the industry, so we bear the wrath of increased prices.

This year on Valentine's Day, Thursday February 14th...please be gentle!

Why Free Delivery is Never Really "Free"

As Canadian florists, we always seem to be chasing the "big boys" when it comes to retailing.

Sorry Mom & Pop shop, but we're never going to compete with Amazon.ca!

It's one thing for mega stores to offer the enticement of free delivery, but local florists don't operate with the same profit margins or method of doing business.

Mega stores utilize FedEx, UPS, or Canada Post to make their deliveries. If somebody is not home, the door either gets tagged and the recipient has to pick up the product at their depot, or the product is left on the doorstep. They tried...not home...too bad so sad.

Flower shops like Simon Says Roses hand deliver their product. We offer personalized service, whether your flower delivery is across the street or nationally for Canada flower delivery. Can you imagine leaving a Xmas centrepiece on the porch, when its minus 20 outside?.

Ever seen a "flowersicle"?

Local flower shops hire local people, who either provide their own vehicles or drive a company delivery van. There is the cost of gas, oil, insurance, and depreciation to be considered. Wages, Worker's Comp, EI, & CPP all take a cut. We're not talking "chicken feed" here...the costs add up.

To minimize these costs as much as possible, delivery drivers usually try to schedule two delivery runs a day, to deliver the maximum flower orders on each delivery run.

Rural deliveries and timed deliveries create their own sets of problems. Imagine sending out a driver on an hour long round trip...for only ONE order! It's not like you can divide the cost among 10 other orders.

Or how about the delivery that has to be there EXACTLY at 12:00 noon? The driver likely has to make a special trip for that one order, to make certain they are on time.

And volume...what volume? The big boys deliver hundreds if not thousands of orders each day. Your local florist may deliver 10-20 on a normal day...80-100 when things get busy around Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.

But still, some florists feel they have to compete with the free delivery "hook". But free delivery is never really free.

Here's a screen shot of a page title that I recently found:

Really? FREE DELIVERY? Sounds fantastic, until you actually go to the site...only to find that each & every product is priced at $10.00 over other florists in the area. Free delivery...or just padded prices? I can only guess...

But there is one thing that a local florist can do that a mega store CAN'T.

Because we're networked across Canada and the U.S., we offer same day delivery if the order is in before noon. Imagine a custom, hand-crafted flower arrangement, hand-delivered on the same day that it is ordered. For delivery to the other side of Canada.

Try that, Amazon!