Marketing to Make the Most of Mothers Day

There are few opportunities like it when it comes to the flower industry. Every household has a mother associated with it, or there may even be up to three generations of mothers if you take into account Mum Grandma and possibly even Great-Grandma.

Here are a few demographics that really underline the fantastic opportunity in this and other special events for flower growers and retailers alike:

Geographical Separation of Families: Increasingly generations and offspring do not live in the same town, the same city or even in the same country. This geographical barrier makes gift giving difficult and expensive from a postal point of view. Mail order on-line solutions will increasingly be important to gift givers as choosing and delivering in person may not be an option

Postal Rate Increases: With the rapid expansion of on-line communications, physical 'mail' volumes have dropped rapidly, and economies of scale lost. We will see on-going increases in postal and courier charges which makes posted gifts increasingly 'all about the post cost' rather than the gift's value. While delivery will impact remote floral gift giving costs, internet ordering and local town deliveries will seem better value than posting a gift

Proliferation of the 'Dark Store' and internet shopping: Marketing Guru John Stanley points to the proliferation of the 'Dark Store' which means the trend to on line retailers as more and more consumers choose to shop on line. Christmas 2012 in the UK saw on-line shopping up 44% on prior year. On-line retailing is more than twice as profitable for retailers as traditional 'bricks and mortar' according to John. The upshot for those retailing flowers and plants for events? Ensure you are well equipped for the on-line shopper!

The 'Have it all' Generation: What do you get for the Mother who has everything? With our very 'over-retailed' shopping environment and recent trends to deals and value for money offerings many of us have houses packed to the gunnels with every possible consumable. Enough can be enough!! Flowers provide a wonderful instant impact solution that doesnt leave the recipient with another 'item' to find a home for after they've done their job! This is an unusual angle for marketing but might be a very effective message

Fashion and Interior trends: Promoting colour fashions and styles of floral art and new gift concepts is a wonderful way to promote 'what's new' this season for Mothers Day. Look to see what interior design is doing for inspiration on colours and trends, on-line resources on colours that are hot for 2013 see for instance the Pantone Fashion Forecast

'Need it Now' and the last minute possible trend: In the increasingly fast paced world, gift buyers tend to make their purchases 'at the last minute'. Flowers are ideal to meet this trend either on-line ordered or race-in and pick up on the way to mum's place. Recognising the easy instant fix of an attractive gift is a key opportunity especially when it comes to plants and flowers as gifts.