Jen Barnard, AAF, of Tillie’s Flower Shop in Wichita, Kansas, shares how she sold six, $499 arrangements (above) in one week.
Editor’s note: This is a new series to celebrate floral professionals’ ‘wins’ and inspire others with stories of innovations, problems solved, successful sales strategies and more. Have a win to share? Email SAF NOW’s managing editor, Amanda Jedlinsky.
Jen Barnard, AAF, of Tillie’s Flower Shop in Wichita, Kansas, saw a significant sales boost during a slow summer thanks to her decision to offer and promote a luxury rose arrangement. She shares the details of how it came together.
The Win
Barnard had initially listed a vase of 100 roses for Valentine’s Day, with a goal of selling just one of the luxury arrangements. When she met her goal, she decided to keep the offering on the shop’s website.
The price of the offering fluctuates throughout the year based on the cost of roses. “Every once in a while, we’ll sell one, and it’s always really exciting,” says Barnard. “But this past week, we sold six!”
The Game Plan
“We already had a couple high-end bouquets on our website because my dad always taught me that if you don’t have it to sell, you’re never going to sell it,” Barnard says.
Barnard has also featured the luxury arrangement prominently in emails and on social media. “On our anniversary reminder emails, I always highlight three high-dollar products because I figure they can come to the website to find something cheaper,” Barnard says. She posts about the arrangement once a month on social media.
“People are usually amazed by a photo of 100 roses put together, and it’s something that people like to share on their feeds. It grows pretty rapidly on its own organically,” she says.
She recently reduced the price of the arrangement, so it appeared to be on sale, and believes that is responsible for the sudden increase in sales the past week.
The Takeaway
Barnard’s biggest takeaway has been that in order to sell big-ticket items, you have to offer them. “You’d be shocked by how many people will spend that kind of money on a bouquet,” she says. She has also learned that it’s important to feature luxury arrangements prominently. “I always have one high-price bouquet on our homepage,” she says. “We do routinely sell at least one of those a week.”
Barnard has also applied that philosophy to arrangements displayed in the shop. She now reserves a few spots in the shop’s front cooler specifically for larger, high-dollar bouquets. “We started selling more two-dozen and three-dozen arrangements out of our cooler just because they’re there for people to see and take with them,” Barnard says.
Offering the 100-rose arrangement has also shown a different side of the shop to customers. “We’re not really known as the luxury flower shop,” Barnard says. “It has really elevated our business to show people we can do more than just your basic dozen roses. We’re 147 years old, but we do stay on top of trends.” Now, customers will come in with pictures and videos from Instagram and TikTok of wow-factor bouquets, and the shop works with them to recreate those arrangements.
Laura Drummond is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
