The Wholesale Florists and Florist Suppliers Association (WF&FSA) has partnered with a U.K.-based Internet start-up to bring more online orders to retail florists.

Direct2florist.com, launched early in 2007 by former British florist John Stirling and his son Simon, has been connecting consumers with florists in England for about a year — about 600 of the country's 8,000 florists have signed up with the online service. The company recently partnered with WF&FSA to create D2F North America, LLC, which has the exclusive licensing agreement for Direct2florist.com in the United States and Canada.

Florists pay $200 a year to be part of the network and will receive 100 percent of the retail price of the order. A florist who registers as a member of D2F will have its own page on Direct2florist.com, where customers can browse local florists by city or even ZIP code. The site showcases photos of participating area florists, including up to 40 products each. Network florists post their own products and control their delivery area.

"Direct2florist.com will have an impact on the profitability of retail florists," Dave Garcia, AAF, president of WF&FSA and president of the Pete Garcia Company in Atlanta.  "Florists will instantly be e-commerce capable, will receive 100 percent of the flower value, have complete control of the products they sell, prices and delivery areas, and they will get paid when the order is delivered. The risk to the retail florist is minimal and the potential gain is tremendous."

Once a customer places a Direct2florist order, florists are immediately notified via e-mail, fax or a pop-up on their computer. After the florist confirms delivery, Direct2florist.com processes payment directly to the florist.

Consumers pay a $6 transaction fee plus the florist's delivery price and sales tax. Direct2florist.com covers the credit card clearing cost and keeps the $6, which covers overhead costs and, eventually, online promotion, according to WF&FSA's executive vice president, Jim Wanko.
 
"Promotion is the most important thing we can do," Wanko says. "It's our intent to hook up with an ad agency that's focused on '(search engine optimization)' to help continue to improve online search engine results.

Wanko is not discouraged by the fact that "fewer than 100" florists have signed up for D2F North America, so far, since its official unveiling early in March. He says hundreds more have expressed interest and he suspects it's just a matter of time before they make the decision to sign up. "We've distributed about 30,000 brochures through our wholesalers, and everyone's been really positive," Wanko says.

--Morgan Schimminger
mshimminger@safnow.org
and Kate F. Penn
kpenn@safnow.org

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