The rose stands for a number of things. For example, the rose holds the meaning of love to many people, its colors have endless meanings and it seems to never lose the power to get people to buy it. It seems to stand above the other flowers in sales day after day.   

The rose is especially important to grocery stores and it can be the main reason someone is heading into the store. It can be merchandised in so many areas of the store, but when a consumer specifically heads to the coolers when first entering a store, it is in most cases to buy roses. 

Sue DeMuthWhether it is a rose for an anniversary, birthday, or any special occasion, the store needs to have healthy product, a great supply of colors and choices on hand. A satisfied floral consumer is more likely to continue on throughout the store picking up other items to accompany the flowers, like birthday cakes, cards, or items for a special meal.

Here are a few thoughts on why roses are still very strong sellers in the grocery industry. 

• The grocery industry is a space where the once too expensive bouquet of roses is now available to anyone, regardless of income. This gives a young family living check-to-check the experience of having something affordable but still elegant. 

• Roses are important to the grocery industry because — thanks to those affordable prices — we have built brand/price loyalty, thus bringing in not only new customers from word-of-mouth but repeat customers who are more inclined to buy additional floral items. 

• Cross-merchandising is another reason roses are so important. No longer are customers willing to stop at a separate florist to buy their roses before going grocery shopping. In this day of convenience, customers want the reasonably priced rose to go along with the ingredients for dinner as well as the possibility of a bottle of wine and a card. Our lower-priced roses displayed near the greeting cards, or near the wine department, help increase sales for the various other departments as a whole. 

• One word — tonnage. In the grocery industry world, where you can get a $7.99 or $9.99 bouquet of roses, and a local flower shop charges $29.99 or $49.99 for a dozen, you give the customer the option of buying two dozen roses for the price of one. This gives the grocery industry the ability to increase tonnage sales. 

• Promotions are an important piece. Lower prices allow the grocery industry to run price-freeze events or turn the entire produce/floral department into a Lover’s Lane during Valentine’s Day.

It is the rose that is the barometer for making many grocery store floral departments an experience for the consumer.

Sue DeMuth is the manager of floral merchandising for the Heartland region at SpartanNash in Edina, MN. She can be contacted at [email protected].