York Flowers wants singletons to feel the love this Valentine’s Day.
The sad reality of Valentine’s Day is that it tends to excludes a lot of people.
If you’re marketing your Valentine’s Day menu to only married or “taken” customers, you might be missing out on a significant population of your target market.
According to a recent article in Entrepreneur, 50 percent of Americans identify as “single,” and only a quarter of that population has plans for the holiday. Mindful that not everyone is in a romantic relationship, York Flowers in Washington, D.C., is promoting “Pal-entine’s Day,” a platonic take on the holiday, encouraging customers to send flowers to friends and family members.
Last year, the shop noticed a lot of parents ordering Valentine’s flowers for their kids, friends sending to one another and “even some people ordering for themselves,” said marketing director Anna Deriquito. In response, York’s Flowers created a “Pal-entine’s” menu, offering cheerful arrangements with jewel-toned blooms, modern designs in blues and whites, as well as bonsais and air plants.
“We picked a few designs we thought our customers would like that are not overly romantic,” Deriquito said.
She posted about these offerings on social media and has seen a tremendous response, landing a lot of early sales. In the future, she plans to expand the Palentine’s day theme, such as hosting special events for single customers to come together and share the (non-romantic) love.
Check out how florists are also capitalizing on another twist on the platonic Valentine’s Day trend, Galentine’s Day.
