Why are grocery store flowers cheaper than a traditional florist? The answer may surprise you!
Posted by Michelle Hughes on
If you've ever purchased flowers at Kroger, Publix or even Trader Joe's you've probably noticed they are cheaper than purchasing flowers at a traditional flower shop, also called a florist.
There are many reasons for this, but the main reason is the amount of wholesale flowers being purchased. A large company like Kroger has significant buying power and, in some cases, even has flower farms that only grow for their stores. Since they are buying these wholesale flowers by the truckload and dispersing them to their hundreds of stores, they are able to get them cheaper.
The drawback of this is that often the flowers are of interior quality, aren't cared for properly at the stores to extend their life, or they haven't been processed properly.
When you see cheaply priced flowers sitting in cardboard boxes near checkout lanes those are impulse products. They want you to throw them in the cart while you are waiting in line. They may be in water, but they aren't being stored at the correct temperature and often haven't had their thorns or lower leaves removed.
Removing the lower leaves on flower stems keep the water cleaner, which will make your flowers last longer.
On some occasions flowers may be used by discount stores as a "loss leader." A loss leader is a product that the store actually loses money on, but that draws you in to the store over and over. Think $2 Italian sausages or $4 rotisserie chickens.
Florists on the other hand purchase only the amount of flowers they will need for their shop for the week. They don't have the significant buying power so the wholesale rates they are charged tend to be higher. Professional florists are also just that, professionals. Their services demand more money because they are flowers artists with valuable skills and knowledge about flowers, how they are arranged and their care. Flowers aren't an add-on or impulse item for them, they are their main product.
If you wish to send a beautiful flower arrangement to anyone in Columbia, Tennessee please consider Bloomstall Flower Boutique. We have been voted Columbia's best florist three years running, 2021-2023, and work diligently to provide the best flowers and customer service in town.