As the seasons change, so should your in-store arrangements and decor. Getting ahead of the holidays is the key to boosting your year-end revenue; as a retailer, it's your role to prompt your customers to start thinking about Christmas before it's crunch-time. Take advantage of the time you have in early November, and update your displays accordingly. It will give your customers a preview of your yuletide design skills, and nudge them towards pre-ordering their seasonal purchases.
Follow these tips, get creative with your designing, and make the most of your seasonal product!
Principles of Designing Versatile Arrangements
An important part of designing in-store arrangements is to consider the pricing ahead of time. Your creations should be priced to fit the different spending capacities of customers who walk into your shop. Create adaptable arrangements that can be modified for all ranges of budgets.
Another consideration is color and floral choices. Consumers associate colors with seasons; pastels for spring, dark hues for winter, oranges and yellows for fall. Select a color palette that will complement the appropriate season. Once your color choices are in place, pick seasonal flowers and foliage that will accentuate your colors. Let your creativity guide you!
Equally important is your choice of container. Always have a good mix of metal, ceramics, glass, baskets, and other novelty contains on hand. Containers can add extra depth to a design and help support a specific season, like metalics for Christmas or pumpkins for Halloween. It's also the only part of a design that lasts beyond the life of the flowers, so choose vessels that your clientele will want to re-use again and again.
Placement of Seasonal Displays
Seasonal offerings should be front and center in your shop. Related home décor, accessories, candles and other fragrances should be displayed at the front of your store. Since these items are only available for limited time, consumers are more inclined to purchase them. Keeping these products in the front of your store will also help move them out the door and eliminate the need to mark down items at the end of a season.
Be aware of how your customers move through your flower shop. What’s catching their attention first? Set up your displays based on the movement patterns of walk-in traffic to help maximize your sales. For example, think about those small items that are always in front of registers. These products are strategically placed to encourage impulse buys. Use this same tactic when setting out your seasonal arrangements.
Capitalize on Fall & Winter
As leaves (and temperatures) start to change, so should the products in your shop. The fall and winter seasons are especially enticing for shoppers, so use that to your advantage. Create versatile in-store arrangements to inspire the feeling of excitement that comes along with the approaching holiday season.
Throughout the fall months, draw inspiration from nature and interpret that with your color and material choices. Vivacious colored blooms amid dark-hued foliage can be a real attention-grabber. Berries mixed with sunflowers in wicker baskets can also bring out the best of the season’s beauty. October and November provide a great opportunity to use spirited, whimsical containers. Varying colored pumpkins, cornucopias, and skulls allow you to celebrate holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving without sacrificing the design.
As winter starts to creep in, use the frigid temperatures to help inspire your creativity. Design with bold colors to contrast the cold or whites and blushes to replicate the peacefulness of a fresh snowy day. Wreaths and garlands are a go-to item during this time of year, so always have these in stock. Keep a few simple ones on-hand, using only typical greenery with a few added berries, blooms, and ribbon. Like your floral arrangements, you want to have options that are easily adaptable for your customer’s budget.
Of course, no holiday floral display would be complete without the all-important Poinsettias. Their bright red color certainly as become a staple for Christmas decor, but for a trendier use of this classic plant that extends beyond Christmas use, consider having white, pink, and marbled poinsettias throughout your shop. Try using cut poinsettia stems in your fresh arrangements to make the most of this seasonal product.
How to Buy
Before visiting your wholesaler, establish what product would best update your seasonal displays and cooler selections. Consider buying your hard-goods in bulk to help save on cost and provide you with more options for displaying your in-store designs.
Be on the lookout for discounts and closeouts from your distributor. Remember, seasonal products change quickly and typically become available a season before. Staying ahead of these shifts and selecting your product early will allow you to keep up with trends and start your holiday sales early.
Updating the arrangements and decor in your store to reflect the different seasons keeps your business visually interesting and fresh to customers. Strategically-placed displays combined with seasonal product will encourage customers to buy and return to your shop for future purchases.
