On Valentine’s Day this year, Chinese flower shops faced a downturn in business, with many shop owners expressing concerns about their Valentine’s Day sales.
According to the Morning News, the day before Valentine’s Day, the well-established “Hongqiao Flower Market” in Shanghai was filled with festive Lunar New Year flowers, exuding a strong holiday atmosphere. However, when it came to discussing Valentine’s Day sales, shop owners wore worried expressions.
Shen Yun, the owner of Precious Blossoms Floral Design, mentioned that although Valentine’s Day fell on a workday this year, many people had already returned to their hometowns to celebrate the Lunar New Year. As a result, there were not many customers ordering Valentine’s Day bouquets at the moment.
She explained that last year, she received dozens of orders before Valentine’s Day, but this year, she has only received around a dozen so far. Additionally, the cost of delivery has increased in the past couple of days, from around 10 yuan to 25 yuan, significantly raising the operational costs. Due to this impact, she stocked up on Valentine’s Day inventory more cautiously this year, preparing around four to five hundred roses.
New Star Flower Shop, in business for over 30 years, decided to forgo Valentine’s Day business this year. They only had a small display of roses and other Valentine’s Day flowers, with the majority being Lunar New Year flowers such as orchids. In previous years, their shop would be filled with roses, lilies, and other Valentine’s Day flowers.
In contrast to the decline in traditional flower shop sales, online flower sales are flourishing this year. Zhu Wenqin, the owner of Lulu Farm, stated that she only received one or two orders at the Citizen Garden Center in Yan Zhong Green Space for Valentine’s Day orders. Nevertheless, the online shop is doing well, with daily sales reaching around 100,000 yuan in the past three days.
She mentioned that after a year of operations, the online shop’s number of fans has increased, contributing to the growth in sales. Additionally, “since many women have already returned to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year, men can only place orders online.”
In terms of pricing, this year’s flower prices have remained relatively stable, without the sharp increases seen in previous years. For example, in 2023, a single red rose with simple packaging outside a flower shop on Nanjing West Road was priced at 25 yuan, whereas this year, an A-grade red rose costs only 6 yuan. The price of roses at Sam’s Club has dropped to 29.9 yuan for 10 stems, averaging less than 3 yuan per stem.
The owner of Precious Blossoms Floral Design analyzed, “Perhaps due to the general market conditions, the price of flowers did not rise.”
Aside from the drop in prices, there has been an increase in customers purchasing “naked” floral bouquets this year. Compared to previous years where elaborate packaging was required, this year’s customers are more focused on economic efficiency.
A similar situation is also occurring in Hong Kong. According to Radio Television Hong Kong, some flower shop owners mentioned that this year, Valentine’s Day is close to the traditional Chinese New Year, causing many married individuals to prefer buying Lunar New Year flowers rather than Valentine’s Day bouquets. It is estimated that overall sales have decreased by about 30 percent.