Among Major Florida Metros, Tampa Bay Blossoms as a Floral Hot Spot
by John Egan
February 06, 2017
Consumers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL, might find it just a tad easier than their major-metro counterparts in Florida to buy roses on Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or any other day.
A LawnStarter review of U.S. Census Bureau data indicates Tampa-St. Petersburg has more flower shops per capita than the three other big metros in Florida: Miami, Jacksonville and Orlando. We came up with the per-capita ranking based on Census Bureau statistics for floral establishments from 2014, the most recent year for which data was available.
See the graphic below for the complete statistics.
Christine Vasconcelo, owner of Tampa flower shop Bloomingdays, says the number of florists in her area and elsewhere has dwindled in recent years.
“The floral industry has experienced considerable consolidation since the economic recession began in 2008,” Vasconcelo says. Flower shops that remain open “have learned to thrive by keeping their operations lean and mean, keeping costs in line, and developing new markets and ways of conducting business,” she adds.
The internet, smartphones and other technological advances have been a “game changer” for locally run flower shops, Vasconcelo says.
“What’s really killing the industry is ‘order gatherers’ -- the companies with super-deep pockets for advertising that take away our orders and charge the consumer hidden fees,” she says, “and at the end, the consumer is upset because they feel I have ripped them off when really it’s the corporate giants. We are just the worker bees.”
Around the country, “worker bees” like Vasconcelo are looking forward to Valentine’s Day. More than 90 percent of florists surveyed by the Society of American Florists expect higher sales this Valentine’s Day, when the holiday falls on a Tuesday, compared with last year’s holiday, which fell on a Sunday and over a long weekend.
Prince & Prince, a market research firm for the floral and plant industries, predicts retail spending on flowers for Valentine’s Day 2017 will total $3.3 billion. The firm says Valentine’s Day is the second biggest holiday for the U.S. floral industry, behind Mother’s Day. According to a survey for the National Retail Federation, Americans are expected to spend $2 billion on flowers for Valentine’s Day 2017.
“This is one day of the year when millions find a way to show their loved ones they care, regardless of their budget,” says Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation.
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