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 August 6-7, 2024 | Rosemont, Illinois

Making New Loyal Customers on Mother’s Day

Mother's Day is the third biggest sales day for fresh flowers, accounting for 26% of all holiday transactions. Flowers account for 80% of sales, with 64% bought for a mother and 40% for a spouse. Other items on the list include outdoor bedding and garden plants, flowering houseplants, and green houseplants. Upselling a plant that lives longer and requires more care can create a new customer.

Mother’s Day is the third biggest sales day for fresh flowers, after Christmas/Hanukkah and Valentine’s Day, with Mother’s Day sales accounting for 26% of all holiday transactions, according to data from the Society of American Florists. Flowers account for 80% of Mother’s Day sales. 64% of those shoppers are buying for a mother, and 40% are buying for a spouse. While this data comes from a trade association for the floral industry, it offers some valuable insight for independent garden centers.

Fresh flowers are overwhelmingly what Mother’s Day shoppers are looking for, but the other items on the list are all in the IGC wheelhouse. 40% Mother’s Day sales were for outdoor bedding and garden plants. Flowering houseplants (37%) and green houseplants (23%) rounded out the top-4 best-selling categories.

The appeal of houseplants, whether green or flowering, as a Mother’s Day gift is clear. A bouquet of fresh cut flowers is beautiful, but that beauty quickly fades. A potted houseplant is a gift that keeps on giving, providing fresh air, peace, and beauty for potentially years to come. And selling a potted plant or outdoor garden plant to a Mother’s Day shopper might introduce a mom to a hobby they didn’t know they need in their life.

So when customers come in this weekend looking for flowers, ask them if they’d be interested in something a little more permanent in addition to the traditional bouquet of carnations. Upselling a plant that lives longer and requires a little more care can create a new customer. Along the same lines, make sure to let Mother’s Day shoppers, who might not be regulars at your IGC, know about any future discounts, promotions, or loyalty programs you are running.