Holiday Hustle: Three Expert Tips for Retail Florists
With the Thanksgiving leftovers still simmering (Vonda's turkey carcass was literally becoming soup during recording), the hosts turn to the question every flower shop should be asking in early December: what do we need to do right now so we don't reach New Year's exhausted and broke? Each host brought her top three. Vonda's list: "price, price, and price." Lori's list, written independently: "marketing, marketing, marketing." Together, that's the whole holiday playbook — plus two bonus tips that might matter most of all.
Vonda's three: price, price, price
Check every invoice as it comes in. Pre-booked product, direct shipments, freight charges — shipping costs belong in your flower costs, and they change week to week. If you're paying more for the roses this week, you charge more for the roses this week. Watch it daily as invoices arrive and make sure you're getting your proper markup.
Fix your website pricing. As Flower Clique's web director Cammy says, your website is a menu. If a big, lush-looking arrangement is listed at $49.95, that's the expectation you've just set — and every order that comes in at the wrong price multiplies the loss. The busier the season, the more you sell; the more you sell at the wrong price, the more you lose. Profit is not a bad word.
Protect productivity. A slow designer raises the labor cost of every piece. Use recipes instead of winging it, skip the "extra stems" generosity, and keep asking how the team can go faster while still putting out great work. Price plus productivity is what turns a busy December into a profitable one.
Lori's three: marketing, marketing, marketing
Know your December promotions — and put the fast-moving ones on social. Everyone is looking for a deal right now; that doesn't mean rock-bottom prices, it means bundles, cute baskets, and in-store vignettes. Your website carries the stable stuff, but daily specials belong on social media, where changes take seconds — so use your emails and website to constantly push people to follow your accounts. One member shop in Toledo is promoting a downtown chamber tote-bag offer this way, linked straight from her emails.
Start email and text marketing now. This is the season when everyone actually reads promotional email. If you've never sent one, look at MailChimp, Constant Contact, or whatever your POS (FloristNext, Teleflora) offers, and just try it. Text promotions came up repeatedly at SAF's marketing sessions — and don't take opt-outs after the holidays personally; that's normal behavior.
Promote your subscriptions. Lori saw a woman from her hometown post nine months of bouquet photos, calling a floral subscription "the best gift my daughters have ever given me." For someone living alone, it's something to look forward to every month — and it's a perfect group gift for siblings to split.
Bonus tip 1: train the person answering your phone
All the promos and pricing in the world die at an untrained phone. Lori tells a painful story from her own recent orders: she called a shop with everything a salesperson could want — recipient turning 55, favorite color purple, three friends splitting roughly $150 — and got back a flat "okay, what do you want?" An order taker, not a salesperson. What she wanted was someone to think through it with her, get excited about the purple, and tell her what she'd be stupid not to order. Done right, that call could have grown to $200. (The arrangement that arrived, by the way, had hardly any purple in it.) Your frontline staff need to know every promo, every price change, and today's best product — and front room and design room need to communicate daily about what should move out the door.
Bonus tip 2: appoint a floater
The last tip is for owners and managers: designate a "floater" — someone intuitive and empathetic who circulates during the crush, checking whether anyone has hit their tipping point. They don't have to design or take orders; a hand on the shoulder, a "you're doing a great job," an offered break or candy bar is the whole job. Vonda remembers Bud doing exactly this in the shop — he couldn't do anything for anyone technically, but the smile after his check-ins said everything. High energy runs out by 3 p.m.; someone should notice before the customer does.
Key takeaways
- Reconcile invoices daily and adjust retail prices as your flower and freight costs move.
- Audit website pricing now — a wrong price online is a promise you'll pay to keep all month.
- Use recipes and watch design speed; labor is part of price.
- Push daily promos on social media, launch email/text marketing this month, and sell subscriptions as gifts.
- Train phone staff to sell, not just take orders — and give the whole team a floater who checks on their tipping points.