Which Website is Best for My Flower Shop?

How to choose, build or upgrade a site that will be perfect site for your business.

Every week, this is, by far, the most common question we receive at QuickFlora from flower shop owners and managers. We wish there was a quick and easy answer to this question, but it is the equivalent of asking “Which is the best car for me?” “Which is the best TV for me?” or “Which smartphone should I buy?” The reality is that the answer is different for everyone, and it’s based on a number of factors that are specific to you, your tastes and preferences, and your flower shop’s needs.

Software is all About Time and Money

The first question we ask flower shop owners is “What is your time frame and budget?” This will narrow the choices quickly in terms of what is a good fit. You can spend $0, $500, $5,000 or $50,000 on a website; what is your specific budget? Some websites can go up in 24 hours while others can take two to three months to build out and integrate with your back-end point-of-sale (POS) system. You need to be upfront with your vendor/webmaster, and let him or her know what you have in mind.

In the software world—specifically, websites and website templates—a software vendor can do absolutely anything you wish; the question is “What are your specific needs?”

You can get a free website/webpage at Wix, GoDaddy, Facebook and a few other online vendors right now. What you will quickly find is that none of these are specific to the flower business, none integrate with POS systems, and you have to do all the work. The reality is you get what you pay for, and most of these free “DIY” choices are a waste of time.

But my cousin, son, neighbor, friend can build me a website …

Yes, they can, but why stop there? Why not have him or her build you a delivery vehicle at the same time? The point is that some things make no economic or practical sense; just because you can do it does not mean you should do it. The reality is that a properly functioning and modern website is a major investment that should not be done by amateurs or people with no history or track record of building websites—especially for flower shops. We also go back to “You get what you pay for.” We have seen many cases over the years where a flower shop owner spends tens of thousands of dollars on a custom website, only to toss it out in frustration after a year of work.

12 Key Questions to Ask

1. How much should I spend on a website?

People ask this question thinking this will be a “one and done” expense, much like buying a cooler. Nothing could be further from the truth. Your investment in floral e-commerce is an investment in your business and your brand. We go so far as to say it is even far more important than your physical location these days. Most people buy flowers online these days, not in stores; let that sink it for a bit! Our advice to most flower shop owners is that whatever you spend on rent each month is what you should budget for your e-commerce strategy—each month. Your e-commerce strategy starts with a great website, but it also comprises online advertising, content development, social media and search-engine optimization (SEO). For a small to medium-size flower shop, we normally suggest that a florist budget $3,000 to $5,000 a month for all these different components and work with an experienced webmaster or web-development firm.

2. Does the website integrate with my POS system?

If your website, no matter who the vendor is, does not interface with your POS system, you are in for a world of pain. Rekeying orders one at a time is extremely time consuming and error prone, and this is multiplied many times over at each floral holiday. Every website order must go seamlessly into your POS system.

3. Do I own the website?

A lot of people are confused by this and not sure what they own and don’t own when they sign a website contract or subscription. If you have a WordPress or Shopify website, that website is 100 percent under your control; you own it and control it. If you have a subscription website from any other third-party vendor, the vendor owns it, and you are just “renting” space on the vendor’s server. The vendor can change the terms at any time and tack on transaction fees or take a percentage of each order—or both.

4. Are there transaction fees on each order?

In some cases, some websites providers charge $2 to $5 per order or, even worse, 10 percent of each sale! This can quickly add up to $500 to $1,000 a month more. Be extremely careful about signing up with any provider that takes a cut of your business! You already have to pay 2 percent to 3 percent for every credit-card order, and you don’t need to pay any more than that—and you won’t when you own and control your own website.

5. Does the website integrate with my credit-card processor?

If you have to change credit-card processors just to have a website, you are going to create a whole lot of accounting work on the back end with multiple processors. Try to use the same processor for your website and POS system so that every transaction is one settlement statement each day.

6. Can my customers pay their bills online?

If your customers cannot log in and see all their invoices and statements and make a payment, you are creating more work for yourself on many levels. Ask the vendor if there is omni-channel capability.

7. Can my customers use a house account online?

In the flower business, customers need to be able to use house accounts, not just credit cards. This is a critical feature and function that all florist websites must have.

8. Can my customers specify pick-up options?

Unless your customers are restricted to “delivery-only” options, they need to be able to specify pick-up options—in store or curbside—options and what time they wish to pick up their orders.

9. Will search engines find my website?

Almost all major website platforms are SEO-friendly these days; the question is “What are you doing in terms of content development, SEO and social media?” A website alone guarantees nothing if no one can find it online and people don’t know it exists.

10. Does the website allow customers to use Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, PayPal, Stripe, etc.?

Most modem platforms (such as WordPress and Shopify) allow almost any payment option you can think of. If you are limiting your customers to just traditional credit card payments (Visa, MasterCard and American Express), you are, most likely, losing a lot of orders. The world has changed, and the payment methods you accept should change also.

11. Is the website mobile friendly?

If your website is not responsive, it won’t resize properly for smartphones, tablets and laptops. This means that shoppers using those devices will have a hard time seeing products and placing orders on your site. Google has a great free “Mobile-friendly Test Tool” that will analyze your site for mobile compatibility. Check it out at search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly.

12. Does the website have live inventory capability?

These days, most retailers need omni-channel capability, meaning that the inventory level shoppers see on your website (and for each location) should be accurate with what is showing in your POS system. If the inventory does not “sync” from your POS system to your website, it creates more work and frustration for you and your customers. This is a critical feature most large flower shops need these days.

What is a Cloud Florist or Dark Florist?

You have probably heard the term “dark kitchen” or “cloud kitchen” during the recent Covid lockdowns. These are examples of traditional sit down restaurants shifting operations to “production only” facilities to service delivery and pick up customers. The same principles apply with floral, plant and gift retailers that are looking to:

1.) Reduce Operating Costs

The retailer does not have to worry about high fixed rent costs, staffing and perishable inventory showroom costs. Highly sought-after high traffic retail locations are expensive to find and keep. If you don’t have to accommodate walk-in customers then you obviously face considerably fewer costs.

2.) Expand Market Share

Dark retailing can be an opportunity to expand (via delivery) to new areas without incurring the costs of a fully-functioning flower shop location. This lowers your capital needs and risks involved in opening a new location.

Nothing New

The truth is, the concept of a ‘dark florist’ isn’t all that new at all if you think about it. A large number of flower shops do a majority of their work in a production facility without any walk-in customers or showroom. This has been going on for decades now. Generally these are referred to as “central design” facilities using a hub and spoke model with many delivery trucks.

Why Now?

Lower Fixed Costs

Retail rents and utilities are very high and require a multi year commitment (lease). No one wants to be on the hook for a $500,000 multi year lease when you don’t even know if you can break even at a new location.

Lower Labor Costs

If you can even find help these days, it is at an hourly rate that is just not viable for most small retailers. This is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

Less Shrink

Monitoring all your perishable inventory allows you to turn inventory faster and reduce your dumpage considerably. No one can afford to keep tossing unsold product week and week just because foot traffic was low or the product aged out.

Omnichannel Software has Arrived

Our QuickFlora POS software can now track live (perishable) inventory online, on the ground and in every vending machine location in the field. This was never possible in the past and a common concept used by major retailers. This function is built into every QuickFlora POS system.

Flower Vending Machines

In a theoretical case study, an established retailer in one city or county, can expand to a neighboring market by just deploying five to ten BloomHouses in strategic locations and utilizing an on demand system to service new markets at the lowest possible fixed costs per month. It is estimated one BloomHouse can replace 5 traditional locations within a 5 mile radius area.

The Competition

Every day major retailers of all kinds are investing in ways to deliver faster and cheaper. Amazon and Whole Foods excel at this right now. This will only keep accelerating until every major market has one hour delivery for free. (this already exists in many markets). Those retailers that continue to take 4-6 hours to process and deliver an order will find themselves left behind in the future.

Conclusion

The least risky way to expand market share is to utilize modern software and hardware to drive new sales and lower fixed operating costs. Talk to us how we can help make this happen for you with a BloomHouse of your own.

For more information visit www.quickflora.com

Florists' Review

Prep For Success

As we enter the new year we need to bring forth the same optimism and energy that was required during the spring and summer months last year as the pandemic swept across the country. Florists around the world had to endure closures and restrictions in the midst of some of their busiest seasons. For some, business stayed the same, while others saw an increase in sales as consumers now had to send sentiments instead of meeting up with friends and family. Many more struggled to make ends meet and everyone in the floral industry had to learn to adapt.

While the way we do business usually changes over time, it had to change very quickly during the pandemic. Consumer priorities began to shift as well, and they did, dramatically. Florists had to be willing to grow and try new things, and turn these changes into opportunity. Most people will continue to want an easy, no-contact way to buy and receive their purchases and by looking at the struggles last year, we are better prepared for things to come.

So what should you focus on as we enter a new spring and summer flower season?

1. Make sure you are selling online-and now virtual, shopping is here to stay and expected by consumers. And they don’t just want to shop, they want an experience. They want to be engaged. Try holding a virtual selling event and communicate with your customers more.

One florist in Little Rock, AR, Tipton and Hurst did over $35,000 on their first virtual sales event. Very impressive!

2. Give your physical and virtual shop a spring cleaning or update- Because floral can often be an impulse buy, focusing on your product both online and in-store is key. You can choose to add more variety to your inventory, showcase seasonal flowers, or try new merchandising.

3. Use health as a selling point- Consumers have been more focused on health this past year, rightfully so, both mental and physical. Research has shown that flowers and plants can help with stress relief, improve mood, aid in relaxation, increase energy and help oxygenate air.

4. Bring inside spaces outside- As we transition into spring, consumers will be looking to get outside, and with any luck, enjoy more gatherings again. Find a way to use your outdoor space, even if it’s small, for both shopping and events. Create a new experience and a more comfortable situation for your customers.

Change is the new normal and if you’re willing to adapt you are better equipped for whatever happens next in the flower business. By examining how business and consumer habits have changed this last year you can prepare for 2021 and beyond.

Dynamic Delivery Fees in Floral

Why do most florists still charge a flat delivery fee for every zip code? There is no doubt the cost of each delivery varies based on distance, time and traffic. Consumers already pay extra express priority fees with every other delivery company such as FedEx, UPS and DHL. Most people would not expect this to be any different with a retail delivery especially one offering same day delivery.

It is estimated that most florists can generate up to 30% more revenue each day by managing their delivery assets more efficiently (trucks, drivers, return ETA times, etc).

For example, studies have shown that if you offer a multiple choice delivery option matrix to consumers at checkout for same day delivery, 30% of the people will choose a faster delivery option. This of course assumes you can actually provide this service, meaning you know exactly where your drivers are at and what time they will return to the store. (If your software can’t do this, get new software asap..)

Most florist point of sale systems can’t do this and even the ones that can, can not offer this without enabling live inventory control. If you don’t know what premade arrangements you have on hand (or the customer does not know by looking at the website) then you can’t promise a one hour delivery option for a higher fee.

In order to capture the extra 30% of revenues each day, all your systems have to be talking to each other (POS, inventory module, delivery manager, website, etc). Disconnected systems that are not integrated can't really make this work. This is why big companies spend millions of dollars on integrated ERP systems to service customers better and generate more revenue. The vast majority of flower shops we see do not have a website that talks to the POS inventory module.

The average florist collects $10,000 a month in delivery fees, about $120,000 a year. Over the course of a year, that is an extra $36,000 in incremental revenue.

Do your delivery fees change by the hour? We did in our stores many years back, especially on Valentine's Day each year. It did not take long to realize 75% of our V Day orders were being delivered before noon (even when the person did not ask for it). Once we realized this fact, we started “offering” morning delivery for twice the normal “anytime” fee. Every year 25% of the customers would choose the morning delivery option. It was like free money as we were not doing anything different production or delivery wise.

Maybe it's time to rethink how you charge for each delivery. I guarantee Amazon is thinking about this everyday.

Florabot is using robotic arms to make floral arrangements

See how QuickFlora technology is reshaping the flower industry as we know it for decades to come. Need to automate your production line? Give us a call to discuss.

Why you should go paperless

THE CASE FOR GOING PAPERLESS

How today’s affordable technology can make your business more efficient, accurate and profitable.

In today’s increasingly paperless world, do any of us really need to be printing things on paper in our stores anymore? Having observed some of our largest florist clients going paperless over the last few years, let me give you seven reasons this make sense on so many levels.

1. Paper gets lost.

No matter what size system you have, a board or a box for each day of the week, we frequently see lost orders with our clients. Every time you lose or misplace an order, you lose a customer, and you lose the value of the order itself. Multiply this by a typical shop handling 1,000 orders a month and an average error rate of 1 percent (10 orders per month), and you’ll see that this can add up quickly, not
to mention the undue stress this creates for all involved. The computer never loses an order. It never forgets. And many times, it even reminds you when you forget.

2. Updates get missed.

Every time a customer calls back and changes an order or card that's already printed, you have to hunt
down the original order, and that takes time – sometimes a lot of time, especially during holidays. Because of this, some shops end up sending duplicate orders because they cannot locate the original order fast enough.

3. It’s much faster

When you go paperless, there is no more line of people at the printer waiting for orders to print.

4. Tablets are less than $100 now.

With name-brand tablets falling below $100 at major
retailers, each designer can have a personalized tablet to see all orders assigned to them each day. You can even configure tablets to work only on pick and production screens to avoid employees wandering off to other sites.

5. It will save you money.

When you factor in the cost of errors, duplicate or missed orders, and lost customers, as well as the cost
of paper, print cartridges and even new printers, you should see that a $99 tablet for each designer will save you thousands of dollars per year as well as make you more efficient and accurate.

6. Designers will stay put rather than wander.

When a designer completes an order, many times he or she has to wander over to a computer, printer or who knows where else to see what is next in the production queue. When designers have personal tablets and the point of sale is assigning them the orders, there is no need to wander around.

7. Trees will love you!

If for no other reason, do it for the environment! The less paper you print on, the less carbon footprint for your company, and the happier Mother Nature will be.

How Will the Next Generation Buy Flowers?

Four Tips for Appealing to Younger Consumers

Smartphones are replacing old swipe readers. Tablets are replacing old point-of-sale (POS) systems, and on-demand delivery services are replacing the old “You will get it when we can get to it” service model. This new era of shopping technology creates new opportunities for future customer engagement with younger flower buyers, but retailers must choose the right technologies that are a good fit for their specific operations.

So how do you inspire younger buyers raised on modern technology to shop for flowers?

1. Make It Easy to Get In and Out

The checkout process at many retail shops is painfully slow, with outdated POS legacy systems. Consider moving to tablets that reduce wait time for simple cash-and-carry orders.

2. Speed Up Delivery when Possible

If you are still telling customers “We will get it there sometime today,” you can expect a puzzled look on young people’s faces. Young shoppers demand accelerated delivery options and are willing to pay for it. That does not mean that all of them expect and are willing to pay for one-hour delivery, but it should be an option. With modern crowdsourced delivery services such as Uber and Lyft, there is absolutely no excuse these days to not accelerate the flower delivery process.

3. Don’t Sell Them Old Flowers

Many floral retailers whose stores we visit can’t tell us how old the flowers are on the sales floor or in the cooler. This tells us that they are probably selling old flowers to a large portion of their customers. If you are not using real-time date-coding on your flowers, and if you’re not properly rotating out flowers after a specific number of hours or days, you are not controlling quality. The last thing you want is the old roses you sold a customer showing up on social media.

4. Keep Them in the Loop

Once a young buyer places an online order, he or she expects updates – and lots of them – preferably via text message (very few young buyers read emails.) With every order, be prepared to inform them about:

• When it was shipped

• What the ETA is

• When it was delivered

• Where and with whom you left it

Also, provide a photo of the item being accepted by the recipient as proof of delivery.

If your delivery technology cannot provide all of this information in real time, all the time and for every flower delivery, then you are making young people nervous about what they just paid you for. Although flowers are a product, delivery is a service. If you can’t perform at a service level consistent with other modern retailers (Amazon, FedEx, etc.), young consumers won’t feel confident about spending their money in your store.

While the next generation of floral retailers will look very different, the retailers who succeed will be those who embrace the changes. They will test new technology, and they will apply yesterday’s lessons to deliver a radically more innovative, engaging and dynamic floral buying experience for every flower buyer – young or old(er).

Alex Frost has founded and operated multiple technology and marketing companies in the floral industry for more than 25 years. He has also developed unique supply chain software for the flower industry.

Robots Arranging Flowers

Robots Arranging Flowers

Automation is quickly coming to the mass-market floral industry, providing both opportunities and challenges for traditional flower retailers.

By Alex Frost

Every day, companies around the world, in practically every industry, are automating specific tasks in their production processes to save on labor costs or address labor shortages. We in the flower industry are known for our creative capability, but no one wants to make 500 of the exact same arrangements every day. That is neither a pleasant nor creative task, but it must be done and is being done by humans currently to service the needs of the mass-market floral industry worldwide.

One of our new ventures, FloraBot, has been testing new robotic automation technology over the last year to see how far we could get in the process. Could we really duplicate the skill and speed of a human floral designer using a robot? Even if it is possible, will it be cost effective long term or practical to use every day? Those are the questions our group of talented mechanical engineers, computer programmers and floral design experts at QuickFlora are looking to find answers for.

Over a few months, we developed robotic technology able to create a typical dozen-roses arrangement in about four minutes. Compare this to a human designer who may average 15-17 minutes to design the same arrangement. Keep in mind that our robot can do this 24/7 all day every day, with no breaks, no complaints, no vacation time, etc. (Check out a video of robotic flower arranging at flora.bot.)

With a projected labor design cost savings of more than 75 percent, this new technology is projected to become widespread in the global mass-market flower industry over the next five years. We predict that by 2024, the majority of floral arrangements sold by mass-market floral retailers will be manufactured by robots. This will cause a profound shift in the supply chain, how flowers are packed and boxed, which flower varieties are grown, and what arrangements look like when they hit the mass-market shelves.

Most mass-market floral consumers don’t really care if flowers are arranged by a robot or human. As many studies have shown, these consumers just want their flowers to be fresh, colorful and visually presentable; in short, they want value for their money. Just as consumers don’t ask who baked the cakes in many supermarkets (now made by robots in many chains), we don’t think they will now start asking who arranged the flowers. Ultimately, there is no doubt that robotic automation will improve the consistency of mass-produced flower arrangements and reduce labor costs.

What this means for traditional florists.

This automation of the flower arranging process could be a double-edged sword for traditional floral retailers, but it does offer opportunities for those who choose to take advantage of them and promote their differences. Robotically designed flower arrangements will likely be less expensive because of reduced labor costs, but they also will likely be less creative and artfully designed than flowers arranged by talented floral designers. They will appeal to the masses who want quick affordable floral gifts, make impulse purchases, and are not looking for floral “art,” but they probably won’t appeal those who want unique, custom-created, artistic floral designs and have the budget for them. It’s not entirely unlike the fashion industry, where there are markets for both off-the-rack/readyto-wear and haute couture. There are other examples, too; for instance, those who purchase cakes (and other baked goods) for special occasions at supermarkets and those who patronize boutique bakeries and cake shops.

There will always be a market and clientele for both massproduced and custom-designed anything, but the purveyors of the higher-end floral products and services will have to be vigilant about cultivating the market for their offerings by continuously promoting their unique value propositions. And they will have to make sure there actually is a difference in the products and services they provide!

Alex Frost has founded and operated multiple technology and marketing companies in the floral industry for more than 25 years. He has also developed unique supply chain software for the flower industry. Contact him via email at alex@quickflora.com.

Cloud based versus Server based Florist Software

Every week we seem to get questions from flower shops that are debating or comparing cloud based florist point of sale systems versus server based point of sale systems.

It is a valid question and there are specific things you need to consider with regard to any type of florist software you plan to use.

Cloud Based POS:

No license fees or other upfront fees

Continuous ongoing backup (every 15 minutes) and updates automatically

Can run from any location (store, home, tablet, phone)

No contracts (month to month)

99.9% uptime guarantee by our network team of five people

No server to buy

No server to back up

No server that goes down

Server Based POS:

Large Upfront License Fee

Fixed limited access license

No 24/7 uptime server support

Have to buy a server (very expensive)

Have to patch and maintain the server

Have to run local backups

You are stuck with your vendor forever (no matter if you like them or not)

PCI Liability (if your server is hacked you are in big big trouble with fines)

When you weigh all the pros and cons it's clear why the entire business world is moving towards cloud based software. It just makes so much sense and so much less work for any florist looking to run any type of florist software these days.

We run your server so you can do what you do best, which is make flowers not run an IT department.

The Support Team at QuickFlora

Why Generic POS systems are bad for Flower Shops

Why Generic POS systems are Bad for Retail Flower Shops

We hear from many shops these days that are using Square, Clover, Lightspeed and Quickbooks to some or all parts of the flower business.

We can tell you with certainty why these are not appropriate for any florist. These systems are all “generic” POS systems that are not designed for flower shops or flower customers. They are designed for people selling generic “widgets” mostly on a cash and carry basis.

None of the systems have:

• Production and Design Room Modules

• Delivery Planning and Routing Modules

• Card or Envelope Printing Capability

• Ability to handle wire in and wire out orders

• Ability to properly handle flower orders

• No interface with typical florist website platforms

• Few if any florist specific financial reports

Inevitably what happens is people start using them (as they are cheap and quick to set up) but realize after a few months that they are woefully inadequate for servicing the typical flower shop customers.

The true cost of these systems in lost productivity and lost customers due to the huge capability gaps ends up costing far more than the savings over a traditional floral point of sale system.

We can say for certainty there is not one florist (out of the top 1,000 in the nation) that uses any of these systems for all the reasons outlined above.

How Tech helps the bigger companies get even bigger

UNDERSTANDING THE CAPABILITIES OF TECHNOLOGY OFFERS POTENTIAL FOR INCREASED FUTURE SALES

Ever wonder how the biggest companies keep getting even bigger each year? It’s not your imagination as this trend has been accelerating over the last few years. People have lots of explanations for these trends, but it seems unmistakable that the larger players spend more on technology and R&D than the smaller players.

It’s no secret why companies like Amazon keep acquiring more and more market share. They have thousands of people working on IT on any day of the week, spanning hundreds of business segments. Compare this to many flower companies that do not have one technical person on staff. How can they possibly compete and keep up with the newest technologies and trends? It’s just not possible to keep up.

Is your company thinking of investing in AI (Artificial Intelligence), drones or robotics to better serve your customers? That’s a tall order for small IT teams with limited budgets. These new technologies help give the more significant players a substantial competitive advantage in the marketplace with shoppers. The larger companies are building a foundation to serve customers better. They are investing in the future.

Consumers have become accustomed to the latest apps when they shop, with real-time inventory control, accurate product data and rapid local delivery. Maintaining hardware and software systems to address all these areas requires a commitment on the part of the company to invest as much in IT as they do in marketing. That’s just not the mind-set at many companies we see in the flower business. The traditional thinking among many players is “we” spend/invest in marketing, but it’s okay if our staff uses five-year-old computers. New tablets? Don’t even ask!

We’re all consumers in one way or another. Ask yourself why you shop at some of the big brand stores or websites? A lot of it has to do with how customer friendly and how advanced their technology is, along with how polished it looks and how easy it is to use. When was the last time your shopping cart crashed on Amazon.com? Rarely or never is the answer.

This past Father’s Day, I decided to send something different to my dad from Amazon after they had acquired Whole Foods Market. After logging on to Amazon Fresh, I ordered a nice bottle of red wine, two steaks, fresh bread and dessert to send him the makings of a nice dinner.

All of this was delivered within two hours (for free) in California for $65. That’s a fantastic example of what is possible and what we are up against in the flower gift-giving business. These types of gift-giving options will only be expanding in the future as the most prominent players combine the latest technologies with some of the best brand names.

We should also be encouraging our staff members to embrace the latest technologies at home and the office so that we can all stay ahead of the curve when it comes to new and emerging trends. Understanding what new hardware is capable of is the first step in developing better software and systems to address the future needs of consumers.

So the next time your staff asks for a new tablet, smartphone or laptop, keep that in mind because it will help your company even more in the long run.

Alex Frost has founded and operated multiple technology and marketing companies in the floral industry for more than 25 years. He has also developed unique supply chain software for the flower industry. Email him at alex@quickflora.com.

SUPER FLORAL / JANUARY 2019 superfloral.com

The Blockchain is coming... are you ready?

You may have heard the term “blockchain” this year mentioned in many different ways.

What is it?

The blockchain is a new technology that many people say will transform how many of us do business together. Think back to before the internet came along, how people were speculating on the future of e-commerce.

Block-chainThe blockchain is a new technology that many people say will transform how many of us do business together.In its most basic form, a blockchain (formerly block chain), is a growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked together using cryptography. Once published, this information that can’t be changed or tampered with. Some people refer to it as a “public database.”

Here are some of the ways it will change the floral industry as we know it today:

• The physical location of every grower and how many acres or hectares they planted will be easily searchable online.

• Need a rose grower in Ecuador that has 6,000 yellow roses ready for harvest next week? This product information will soon be online and easily searchable in a few years using blockchain technology.

• Growers will be able to share what they planted, when it was harvested, when it was boxed, and how it shipped, with great detail for all buyers to see anywhere in the world.

• Just like you can’t hide a farm from a satellite image, you won’t be able to hide what is growing in the field anymore. This will be public information down the road just like Google street-level view is now.

• Not sure what day the grower cut and boxed those flowers coming your way? This data will be transparent to buyers in the future once it is published on the blockchain. Those growers that don’t choose to share this data will have less market share from major buyers.

• Need a unique glass vase from China? Right now, that search process is a nightmare on Alibaba, one of the world’s most popular marketplaces for factory goods.

• In the future, all known glass factories will be online in an easily searchable public database, maybe even the molds they have on hand also. This will make the product sourcing much easier for all glass buyers.

• You may be able to pay the grower or factory with a digital token once the major financial institutions start to accept this as a standard form of currency. Bitcoin tokens exist today and are known the world over, but few people are using it in commerce for many reasons. Those reasons are going to go away over time as the technology keeps getting better and people have more confidence in these new forms of currency.

Remember, people initially refused to send documents over “email” when it first came out? It took a LONG time, but people finally gave up their fax machines. Sending secure documents over the internet is now the global standard for the most part.

The transaction costs for sending payments over the SWIFT network are going to go down dramatically for all involved when there are viable alternatives to how we pay suppliers globally. Right now, major banks control the flow of money across borders, that will also change as companies start to pay each other directly with digital tokens.

Not sure how much the farmer got paid on your last order? If they get paid with digital tokens, all the information will be trackable online using digital wallets. This may help ensure they were fairly compensated.

Keep in mind many farm workers in Africa are currently being paid in digital tokens by many companies because the local currency is too unreliable, unstable or has excessive transaction costs.

When a consumer buys a dozen roses in the future, there may be a QR code on the packaging that shows the exact farm they came from, what day the roses were cut and how it got to the final destination. No more guessing if you just bought three-day roses or ten-day roses.

All this information will make buyers far more informed. Buyers, producers and sellers will be sharing more and more information or risk being left behind.

Need a dozen lavender roses tonight? Real-time inventory data that is blockchain based may show you the name of every retailer that has those lavender roses and the physical locations where you can buy them. Just try that using Yelp today?

We can’t be sure how people will leverage blockchain data in so many different forms, but the changes will be profound regarding how growers sell and market their flowers and how buyers search, buy and ship those flowers worldwide.

The average grower in South America wastes anywhere from 5-40 percent of the weekly crop because he or she is unable to locate willing buyers worldwide.

That grower will directly benefit by publishing their product data on the blockchain, and also cut out the middleman by going straight to buyers, allowing them to capture more revenue per stem.

While those are just a few examples, we still don’t know how this new blockchain technology will fully evolve and we may not know for another decade or so.

Alex Frost works on leading-edge technology for flower companies worldwide as Founder and CEO of FloraChain. www.florachain.io

Can Uber Replace a Company Delivery Vehicle?

For more than 100 years, retail flower shops have operated their own delivery vehicle. The capital cost of running such a vehicle (lease, fuel, maintenance) and a full-time driver easily exceed $3,000-$4,000 a month in many markets.

With the recent acceleration in crowdsourced companies (Uber, Lyft and many others), many flower shops have started to use these services to augment existing delivery options – in many cases, for last-minute orders and, in a few instances, for all orders.

We were curious as to what the cost difference is between an in-house driver and a fully crowdsourced delivery system. We analyzed the delivery data from three flower shops in three states. We ran each stop (from the prior month) through the Uber API to calculate the approximate total cost, and the results were pretty profound.

In each of the three cases, we estimated savings of 20 percent to 30 percent over an in-house driver. Not only was the cost less but the speed of delivery was two to four times faster than a local truck and driver.

Keep in mind that an Uber driver can offer “immediate” delivery, with no stops from your flower shop to the recipient address. The average delivery time was 32 minutes after the order was picked up at the store. The average delivery time for a florist is two to five hours.

So if you could deliver faster for less money, why would you not do it? You give up some branding control by not having your truck roll up to the recipient’s house, but, really, how much value is there in that? It’s hard to say. For years, people have been saying there is no new business to be had from delivering incoming wire orders. Why would it be any different in this case? So the branding value, if you can even quantify it, is debatable, at best.

No doubt, you can’t use Uber for a funeral or wedding delivery, so a crowdsourced delivery system is never going to replace a local truck 100 percent. But how about if it could handle 50 percent of your deliveries? That would still be considerable savings every year and faster service for your customers.

With Amazon and other retailers (and now many supermarkets) racing to deliver as fast as possible (same day) for as little as possible, there is no doubt this will impact all flower shops in ways we could never have imagined.

PRESS RELEASE – New, Free eVenta Event and Wedding Manager launched for Floral Industry.

With the unique needs of floral event planners worldwide, QuickFlora has responded with a free software application for all flower shops.

Miami, FL: QuickFlora, Inc, has released a new enterprise level software application “eVenta” to allow floral companies to manage events and weddings. This new module is built on the existing, enterprise level flower shop management system “QuickFlora” which has been used by some of the largest florists in North America for over a decade. Unlike many basic proposal programs, eVenta was developed with advanced production, purchasing, and delivery modules that larger, multi-location flower shops have come to expect in their daily operations.  

“We wanted to create something that can easily handle a $2,000 wedding or a $100,000 wedding,” said QuickFlora CEO Alex Frost. “At the same time, we are providing a free, basic version that flower shops can use forever, and upgrade as they grow.” These integrated operation modules allow a florist to generate a sales proposal quickly, cost out all the recipes for each item, and obtain digital contract signatures online.

Studies have shown that a professional proposal quickly presented after the first client meeting has a higher close ratio for events leading to increased sales. The average bride will obtain three floral bids on a wedding, and the professional presentation of the proposal is a deciding factor in many cases. While utilizing the free, basic version of the software, a small flower shop can now close more sales faster using the new eVenta software.  Users can sign up for a free version at www.eventa.biz

About QuickFlora, Inc.:

Located in the Miami area, QuickFlora, Inc. has been providing point-of-sale and shop management software to many of the top flower shops in North America for over a decade. Our technology team creates custom modules for all segments of the floral industry. For more information, please visit www.quickflora.com.

Contact: Rod Aquino Phone: 800-210-8670 Email: rod@quickflora.com

Is it time to dump your wire service website?

Is it time to refresh your website or dump your wire service website?

QuickFlora is pleased to release advanced Wordpress templates for flower shops looking to move away from wire-service, cookie cutter websites. These new, ad agency-quality websites are built on top of the WordPress open source platform which is the most flexible and powerful website platform on the market.

Click here to see a live preview of the Willow website template.

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QuickFlora Website Benefits:

• No wire service containers to buy

• No membership fees

• No per order transaction fees

• No limit on images and pages

• One flat-rate, monthly payment for hosting/support and updates

• Fully responsive on all devices (desktop, laptop, tablet, and smartphone)

• Full WordPress back-office capability

• Interfaces with any POS system (that has a Woo-API)

• Use any credit card processor compatible with Woo

• Unique images not found on any other websites or templates

• Library of over 150 non-wire product images (or upload your own)

• Google Search Engine approved

• Google Mobile approved

• Wedding/Event Appointment Form

• SEO friendly controls

Click here to see a live preview of the Olivia website template.

We offer special discounts for shops migrating from any major wire service. Call us for details at (800) 210-8670. Click here for more information.

Need a new POS? Get your new website for free with any new POS sign up by July 15th. Ask us how.

QuickFlora Launches Support for WordPress and Woo Platform for Florists

MIAMI, FLA. (June 1, 2018) – Alex Frost, President and Founder of QuickFlora, announced today the company has released many new websites templates based on the popular WordPress e-commerce platform for flower shops.

The QuickFlora florist software system, used by some of the largest and most upscale flower shops in the United States and Canada for over ten years, will now begin supporting WordPress and Woo shopping cart open source platform.

“These new florist website templates based on WordPress allow a florist to use one of the most popular open source website platforms to move away from the wire services,” says Frost. “Retail florists are continually frustrated by the limited features in most proprietary e-commerce platforms, and this new platform opens up thousands of new plugins from the WordPress world to users. They no longer need to be held hostage to the escalating fees and limited features of most wire service websites.”

Brown’s the Florist, one of the largest and most prominent names in retail flowers (based in Victoria, British Columbia), switched its three retail stores to WordPress in 2018. They now have a fully responsive mobile friendly platform to build upon enabling them to expand on e-commerce flower sales and events.

“This system which Alex and his team specially built for Canada, allows us to provide our floral customers with the best possible online buying experience,” says Natasha Crawford, owner of Brown’s the Florist. “The QuickFlora team has been super in helping us help them build out leading-edge features that we needed,” says Crawford.

This new WordPress website platform for flower shops is compatible with most POS systems, including QuickFlora POS. The QuickFlora Shop Management system is a cloud-based system that incorporates POS, Order Entry, E-commerce, Mobile App, Delivery Manager, Marketing Manager, Accounting and many other modules all into one system managed from any PC or MAC from any location. The system is fully hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) as of early 2018.

The website software is specially tailored for high volume flower shops (and flower franchises) with multiple locations featuring QuickBooks hands off integration, Google Maps API for address verification and zone mapping, iPad signature capture and a host of other features never before available to floral retailers in North America.

For further information contact:

Public Relations: QuickFlora
Phone: 323-735-7272
401 E Las Olas Blvd.
Suite 130-177
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
United States
sales@quickflora.com

A sample WordPress website florist template can be seen at

https://www.floristsoftwaredemo.com
.
You can request a free point of sale demo at www.quickflora.com.

Will robots be arranging your flowers soon?

It’s no secret that many people in the hospitality and retail industry are starting to roll out new concepts that involve using robotic technologies. Some of the benefits boasted by such businesses include the elimination of training new employees, robots are more efficient and make fewer errors, robots can be trained to complete all duties and responsibilities rather than just a few, and they do not become ill with proper maintenance. Robots are not without fault, however the cost savings and productivity improvements are making hundreds of thousands of people’s jobs expendable.

With labor accounting for such a large part of the flower growing process and up to 30 percent of a flower shop’s operating expenses, it seems a natural fit for the flower industry and robotics. These robots work 24/7, never require a coffee break, and insurance costs drop significantly by eliminating the need for employee liability protection.

How long until we see a full automated greenhouse? Maybe not as long as people might think. Several companies are already trying to automate greenhouse and nursery operations.

I know more than a few flower shops that were burning the midnight oil in a mad rush to keep up with the demand of Valentine’s Day this year, and they could sure have used some help like this! If a robot can cook and flip pancakes, it won't be long before they are keeping mass market flower coolers fresh and up to date...

Harvest Automation is already building robots for growers with a $10 million round of funding. Check out the neat video on their home page.

https://www.public.harvestai.com

The future is here. Embrace it. Welcome it. Or, it will pass you by.

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Competition is Blooming in the Flower Business

Many people called and emailed questioning if “a flower shop with no employees” was even possible after the article I published last week. It is great to see such a concept engage the industry so passionately!

The reality is, the concept already exists in various forms all around us. I suppose it just depends on what you consider a “flower vendor” these days. To me, it is anyone that provides flowers to consumers whether it be a full-service flower shop, a supermarket, an airport kiosk, or a website or mobile app selling flowers. These are all variations of flower sellers in one form or another. A website selling flowers is really just a storefront with no salespeople, at least on the front end. We all know that so many unseen people work on the back end in terms of fulfillment.

A flower shop using courier services is a flower shop with no drivers, or trucks for that matter. Do people really care if your own truck pulls up with the delivery of a courier, a taxi, or an Uber driver? People care much more how FAST you deliver AND if you delivered what you promised rather than they do about seeing your name on the truck.

A supermarket floral department is another example of a flower shop with no employees. Ever try and ask someone about the flowers at a supermarket? Chances are there was no one around to help you, and that was by design. How about the flower cooler box at Costco? This is another example of an unmanned flower shop averaging over $1 million in annual revenue with over 400 locations. An airport flower kiosk is also an unmanned flower shop in a basic sense. In many airports worldwide, they stock flowers and people buy the flowers self-serve style while the vendor restocks the cooler.

Remember how we all used to pump gas? No one would let you “touch” the gas pumps in the old days. Now, no one will help you pump the gas! What happened? Gas stations realized people would rather save 20 cents a gallon than have a full-service gas station. How is this any different with a self-service flower kiosk or supermarket?

The reality is that the market evolves to fill the needs of consumers in many forms. Consumers respond to whichever business options are presented to them, good or bad. We tend to make things too complicated for consumers in the flower business.

The free market will determine if Amazon can succeed with a supermarket without employees. I believe this model already exists to some degree. Other than a cashier, who else do you see working in many major supermarket these days? It already feels like there is no one working there some days. :-) Why not just make it official and put in some helpful robots in the aisles?

To those who view the contraction of the traditional florist retail model as a negative, perhaps consider all the alternative and evolving flower purchasing options already in existence within the market today, and keep an open mind about the future. Someone once told me ten years ago there was big business selling flowers “in a box” without a flower shop. Then came ProFlowers. That market segment is now worth nearly $2 billion dollars and continues to grow annually.

If someone had told me years ago that they could order wedding flowers from Sam's Club and Costco, I would have found that ridiculous. The reality of the flower industry is that there are dozens of websites selling DIY wedding kits and pre-assembled wedding kits these days. Thousands of brides are ordering their flowers without any hand holding.

If someone had told me Americans would pay $4 for a cup of coffee 25 years ago, when I was paying 99 cents at 7-11, I would have said that is absurd. Today, we have Starbucks and we all pay $4 for a cup of coffee. This does not include the billions of dollars consumers spend on gourmet coffee in the mass market segment. Remember Folgers and Sanka?

Starbucks gave us a BETTER product, made it EASY to order with convenient locations and an exceptional buying EXPERIENCE that many of us find much preferable to 7-11, McDonald’s, and donut stores. Do you think there are more coffee shops or less coffee shops than before Starbucks came along? Take a guess. Coffee consumption in the US has catapulted to levels no one thought imaginable 25 years ago. Starbucks, Cold Stone, and Krispy Kreme all proved specialty retail can be successfully reinvented when you focus on the consumer “experience,” when you execute proper branding, and when you are trying new and innovative things in your business.

Rather than focusing on the negatives pertaining to the existing state of the flower business, why not reinvent the flower business? It is so much more fun and exciting. Call me an optimist, but I think the floral industry is on the verge of exploding into a market many times its present size, and it just will not simply be in ways you might expect.

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BloomThat Losing $500,000 Per Month?

 

That is correct. That is not a typo. Investors gave these boys 7 million dollars to try and figure out a "new" way to sell fresh flowers.

Yes, that is not a type either. SEVEN MILLION dollars. This is the state of venture capital in Silicon Valley. I would like to think that venture capitalist outside of the San Francisco bubble have some better choices out there?  Does it really make any sense to fund people that have never worked in the flower business or even know the basics? 

This is why few, if any, of the venture-backed companies of the last few years will survive. None of them will be able to figure out a cash flow positive business model before they burn through all of this venture money.

Many of us have to raise capital at some point, but the burn rate of some of these start ups is just off the charts and not sustainable.

If they had bothered to ask us how to deliver flowers in LA, we could have saved them quite a bit!

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Is Your Wholesaler Selling to Consumers?

We came across this picture of Katie Holmes shopping at the L.A. Flower Market. This should dispel the myth that "bargain" hunters" only shop at true flower markets. 

We see this more and more as we travel across the country. It is an unmistakable trend. Wholesalers are under pressure to survive with less and less flower shops every year. 

Very few of them deliver, but they do offer consumers a wide variety of fresh cut flowers for personal use, DIY weddings and events, and some even offer classes. 

I know many flower shops refuse to patronize these wholesalers. Are they necessarily a bad thing? 

Our philosophy is that the more companies expose people to flowers, the better. Thirty years ago, supermarkets sold zero flowers. Today, 23,000 supermarkets sell upwards of six billion dollars a year.

Our family flower shop was like many flower shops today. We never made much of an attempt to sell cut flowers to self-service customers. We always viewed it as a "hassle." In effect, we gave away this entire market to the supermarkets by default. The flower industry handed it to them on a silver platter. They took it all. 

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