Local florists say the bloom is back on Valentine's Day
20.05.12
Allan Woods is ready. The owner of the eponymous flower shop in Woodley Park started photographing Valentine’s Day arrangements for his Web site in the summer. There are 15 in all — from $75 bouquets of baby calla lilies to a $125 medley of hydrangeas, roses, orchids and lisianthuses.
Woods counted 100 orders a week before the big day. “We’re marginally ahead of last year,” he said. “But most orders won’t come in until the weekend,” before Valentine’s Day.
A recent survey by the National Retail Federation reported that consumers plan to spend $1.8 billion on flowers this year, up from $1.7 billion a year ago and $1.6 billion in 2010. Floral sales are typically higher when Valentine’s Day falls on a weekday, as it will this year, said Jennifer Sparks, vice president of marketing for the Society of American Florists .
“There are a lot of office deliveries when the holiday falls during the week,” she explained. “People want to impress their Valentine at work, when they can’t be with them.”
Source: Washington Post