Market Research for Florists

Florist shops are an ever popular industry and before you invest time, money and energy into opening a flower shop, first, make sure there is a market for your flowers with the help of market research for florists. In other words, take time to think about who your customers will be, how much of what they will buy and when. As such, we want to provide you with a current industry overview, trends and challenges as well as provide some research resources for those interested in the florist shop business.

Here are the 8 Questions to Answer on Market Research For Florists

1. Answer these questions:

How many consumers are there in your marketplace?
What is their income?
How old are they?
What do they do for a living?
Where do they live?
Are they professionals, families, college students, seniors, etc?
Are they likely to buy by phone, in person or over the Internet?
How often do your target customers buy flowers?
On what occasions?
How much will they spend in each case?
Are flowers a status symbol in your community?
What roles do funerals and religious ceremonies and cemeteries play in your community?
What role do flowers play in those ceremonies?
What role do flowers play at the cemeteries?
What industry is in your community and what role do flowers play in their business?
Do they send flowers to their employees, clients, and partners? Do they use flowers in their offices?

Now that you have answered these questions, move on to the competition section.

2. Competition

In many cases, there will already be businesses that are selling flowers in your community. And regardless of local market conditions, there will be a certain segment of consumers who prefer to purchase flowers at an online retailer. Having researched the market and what segments of the market buy flowers for what reason, now Consider the following:

Who is your competition-in the floral market?

Retail flower shops
Garden Centers
Super Markets
Farmer’s Markets
Farm Markets
National Order Gatherers
Big Box Retail
Big Box Home Centers
Studio Flower Shops

3. What portion of the market is the competition selling to?
4. Are they satisfying that market?
5. What advantage does the competition have? – Location, relationships with key customers, reputation, and volume
6. What advantages will you have?
7. Will you compete for the same segment of the market or will you target another segment?
8. What other products compete with flowers in your market? – Gifts, jewelry, candy, bakery items, crafts

Make sure the scope of your market research is sufficient and don’t rush any stage because both can limit your success. Researching your market need not be a costly exercise, because there are many sources of inexpensive or even free information. And there is also much you can do yourself.

Remember that once your business is up and running, continuing your research regularly will allow you to remain aware of your customers’ needs and stay one step ahead of the competition.