Last year, just under a third (29 percent) of retail florists reported sales for Administrative Professionals Week (APW) were down from the previous year. When asked the reasons for their decline in sales, three of the top five tightly-clustered explanations given had to do with the holiday itself — confusion over who the holiday was for (43 percent); confusion over the name of the holiday (41 percent) and the fact that the holiday name had changed over time (40 percent). Rounding out the top justifications were non-support by the business community (40 percent) and the economy (40 percent). The next two reasons offered were insufficient industry advertising/promotion (32 percent) and competition from other gifts, such as non-floral gifts and restaurants (31 percent).

Reasons for Decline in Sales for 2007 APW

Source: SAF Post-holiday survey of retail florists, April 2007. Based on 307 responses (response rate = 9 percent).

 

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