Flower Delivery Business: Key Statistics, Trends, and Insights for 2024

The growth in the flower delivery business is on the rise because of the evolution which is transforming the industry and helping it scale to new heights.

From the floristry and floriculture advancements to the logistics and transport streamlining, you get the best quality flowers delivered at your doorsteps. 73% of Americans appreciate different kinds of flowers, and they purchase them for different occasions.  

Being one of the most affordable and precious gifts one can give, the rising demand for flowers has created immense opportunities for flower delivery businesses.

Let’s look at the top flower delivery business statistics & trends 2024 to help you optimize your business based on the floral industry trends.

Industry Overview and Stats

Since 2015, the United States flower industry has been rising steadily at a growth rate of 8.5% annually. And now, the estimated worth of the floral industry is around $5 billion.

Staggering, right?

It’s just the tip of the iceberg; let’s dive deep into different floriculture industry statistics to understand the nitty-gritty elements of the scaling industry. (SOURCE)

Consumers spending on flowers on different occasions

• The United States spends $1.83 billion per annum on flowers and is one of the largest markets globally.

• Valentine’s day is the most significant event for the purchase of flowers. It’s then followed by Christmas, Hanukkah, and Mother’s Day.

• 77% of consumers purchase flowers because there is a special occasion.

• 60% of the global market sales of flowers are for gifts for someone else.

• The most popular flower purchased by the customers is the Rose.

• 88% of Americans say that they feel happier after purchasing flowers.

The United States Flower Industry Statistics

• Due to the increase in online flower shops and D2C business models, the floral industry can witness a job decline of 14% between 2018 and 2028.

• Online flower merchants are growing at the rate of 11.8% annually.

• Floral bypass florists and other intermediaries are losing their indulgence in the industry due to the online shift of the market. 

• COVID-19 has caused a slight decline in the expansion of the industry as it witnessed a 6.2% contraction in the year 2020.

• 80% of the fresh flowers sold in the United States are imported from different parts of the world, especially from South American flower farms. The pandemic affected the flower supply chain but slowly got back on track.

These are some of the top flower shop statistics surrounding the floral industry, and to wrap it up, the flower industry in the United States is expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 6.13%.

Apart from these exciting industry statistics, let’s look at the specific trends transforming the flower industry.

Emerging Trends Shaping the Flower Delivery Business

Out of multiple trends visible in the floral industry, let’s go through the top new trends rising post-pandemic times. We highlight the importance of these trends from an online flower delivery point of view.

Trend 1: Millennials’ Increasing Preference for Flowers

With the new generation shifting towards buying flowers for different occasions instead of chocolates, gift cards, and a bottle of champagne, businesses need to focus on delivering them a quality experience.

Millennials and the gen-z generations use smart devices and social media apps more than their previous generation, so it can become essential for businesses to create their mobile-friendly online presence.

With the customers’ reduced attention span and patience levels, businesses need to deliver the flower requirements of the customers in the promised time frame, or else they’ll lose them to their competitors.

Trend 2: Innovative Solutions Transforming the Industry

With the introduction of new advanced technologies, flower businesses have strengthened their supply chain and enhanced the business workflow. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have removed the manual hindrances and human errors for better and safe flower delivery results.

The shift towards the online stage can transform the business strategy shift, and businesses are focused on the direct selling approach following the Direct-To-Consumer model (D2C). 

Online florists are looking to minimize the expenses, the delivery time, and the hassles in the supply chain. They are looking to deliver a quick and quality customer experience to the target audience.

The farm-to-table concept is at its peak, and enormous emphasis is being paid to design waste, sourcing, customer experience, and premium delivery of flowers.

Trend 3: The Critical Role of Delivery in Customer Experience

The change in the flower delivery industry ecosystem created a unique demand from the customers to get safe deliveries of flat-packed boxes of flowers. Flower customers want the fastest and fresh flower deliveries within a few clicks on their mobile devices at the doorsteps.

They want to escape the troubles of getting out of their homes and going to an offline florist shop to purchase the desired set of flowers. COVID-19 pandemic has also fuelled this new thought, forcing floral business owners to switch towards online flower delivery services. 

Businesses are optimizing the delivery workflow to fulfill the expectation of the customers. But it’s a long journey as businesses cannot deliver the promised quality and service with the existing logistics and transportation system.

So how can flower delivery businesses improve the delivery flow and enhance the new-age flower buying experience for the customers?

There are multiple ways to achieve the desired outcomes, but if we boil it down, it comes to the basics of delivery service, i.e., proper route planning and optimization.

But why?

Let’s explore different horizons of the importance of route planning and optimization, keeping in mind your flower delivery goals and requirements.

The Importance of Route Planning and Optimization

• Approaching a task with a plan always gives you the advantage to fulfill the task with finesse. The same goes for your logistics and transportation process.
• Plan your delivery route and advise your on-ground workers to follow a dedicated plan. You’ll be able to increase their productivity and will be able to deliver a quality flower delivery experience to your customers.
• Route planning is the process of finalizing the optimized multi-stop delivery path analyzing different parameters like traffic, vehicle, drivers, weather, and others that can affect the efficiency of the delivery process.
• Proper route planning can help you maximize the business’s productivity and minimize the delivery cost, fuel cost, and delivery time.

But your route planning needs to be done using the latest and advanced tools. You can rely on traditional route planning or Google Maps to fulfill the increasing demands of your customers.

Because traditional route planning or Google Maps won’t help you to

• Fulfill the flower delivery orders in bulk
• Bring out the best from your workforce
• Create a robust internal communication ecosystem
• Get optimized and shortest multi-stop delivery routes within a few clicks

So, you need to use the latest route planning and optimization software to bypass the hiccups caused by the delivery process and to match the rising demands in the flower delivery industry. It can help you in

1. Saving time

You can automate the route planning and optimization process with the help of dedicated route planning software. It can help you remove manual redundancies and increase the productivity of your workforce. Saving time in the flower delivery process can help you keep the freshness of the flower intact and deliver the flowers to the special occasion within the promised time.

2. Seamless multi-stop deliveries

Creating a seamless multi-stop deliveries workflow can help your delivery drivers to complete more orders and help you scale your flower delivery business. Using a route planner, you can create an optimized delivery route for different drivers and share it with them within a few clicks.

You can import the delivery address from Excel sheets to streamline the delivery flow and make the management easier.

3. Maximize the user experience

An organized delivery flow and quick and safe flower deliveries can help you to leave a positive impact on the customers. You can optimize your delivery process using the in-depth delivery reports of the route planner and fix the loopholes in your delivery system to deliver a better user experience to the customers.

Once you can bridge the gap between quality customer experience and quality flower products, you’ll outshine your competitors to emerge as the leaders in the growing online floral industry.

Now that question arises from hundreds of route optimization and planning tools available in the market, which one is suitable for your business?

Upper Route Planner Can Assist You Deliver Your Flowers On-Time

Upper Route planner is a robust, simple-to-use route planning software that can help you get a broader view of your delivery operation.  You get the ability to make suitable adjustments to maximize its efficiency.

With a quality UX/UI, you can use its features easily and communicate with your team with maximum efficiency. Your workforce can use the software to increase productivity and deliver maximum flower delivery orders in minimum time.

Being one of the leading route planning and optimization tools in the world, here’s what Upper Route Planner offers:

• 500 delivery addresses can be exported from Excel sheets
• Record and store digital proof of delivery
• Agile and optimized route planning within seconds
• Easy to use dashboard 
• Quick route dispatch

You can integrate Upper Route Planner in your existing delivery workflow and optimize the performance of your business with finesse. 

Get a free 7 days trial to get hands-on experience on the software to transform your flower delivery businesses in the modern era.