News » 16.09.2025 - Researchers give insight into the minds of American flower buyers

Cut flowers are no longer a specialty item reserved for florists or formal events. Today, you're just as likely to find a bouquet near the produce aisle, at the checkout line of a pharmacy or even nestled beside snacks at a gas station. As fresh flowers become a more familiar feature in a variety of retail spaces, their role in everyday life is evolving — and so are the people who buy them.

To understand this trend, a team of researchers at the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences combined horticulture and agricultural economics to explore not just what flowers people buy, but why, how often and what those habits say about broader consumer behavior.

One flower doesn't fit all
What started as a project for Assistant Professor Julie Campbell's floral design class in the Department of Horticulture grew into a nationally representative study of more 8,500 consumers.

The result: There is no such thing as a "typical" flower buyer.

Using cluster analysis, a statistical method common in marketing, the team identified 13 distinct types of flower consumers. There is the Valentine's Day segment (mostly male, big on roses), the anniversary-only givers, the home-use-only shoppers who buy for themselves, and the everything cluster — shoppers who purchase flowers for all types of occasions and spend the most.

"Everyone's not your customer," Julie Campbell explained. "Different people behave differently. Once you know their patterns, it's much easier to market to them."

Beyond the bouquet: emotional value
The study didn't just ask what people bought; it also asked why. Through open-ended responses analyzed with word clouds, researchers uncovered that consumers associated flowers with everything from "beauty" and "smell" to "waste" and "expensive."

Still, the benefits were clear: People who had purchased flowers in the past year were more likely to report feeling better at home and at work. They experienced improved mood, reduced stress and even better overall morale. The perception of the psychological benefits was especially strong for those who made recent purchases.

"There's a perceived benefit — whether it's real or not. People feel they're getting something valuable from the experience," said Ben Campbell, co-author of the study and a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at CAES.

From farm to florist to front porch
While the emotional pull of flowers is strong, the supply chain behind them is global — and complicated. Imports, particularly roses from Colombia, still dominate the U.S. market. But the domestic industry is growing.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was a turning point. Events like weddings and funerals plummeted, leaving the floral industry scrambling. Flower farms were bulldozing entire crops.

But something unexpected happened. With everyone stuck at home, people began buying flowers to brighten their spaces. Grocery stores and even convenience stores started stocking up. Cut flowers became a kind of self-care.

"It became almost like therapy," Julie Campbell recalled. "The habit stuck around."

That shift also sparked new growth. Open-field flower acreage in the U.S. more than doubled between 2017 and 2022, thanks in part to local farms growing flowers that don't ship well, like zinnias and dahlias.

These farms aren't trying to compete with mass-produced roses from Colombia. Instead, they're carving out space in the growing market for local, seasonal varieties.

Ben and Julie Campbell

Flower feeds and buying impulses
A companion study explored how consumers interact with flower ads on social media. The researchers compared static versus animated ads to see which one people remembered most.

Surprisingly, static images performed better in terms of recall. Animation might catch the eye, but when it came to memory — and possibly influencing purchases — less was more.

Impulse buying also plays a role. While 36% of respondents used past experience to guide purchases, 31% were influenced by store displays — especially at grocery stores, the most common setting for casual flower buying.

This data suggests that messaging, timing and placement matter just as much as the flowers themselves.

Rethinking the calendar (and the customer)
Valentine's Day may reign supreme, but researchers say there is untapped potential in other occasions, like birthdays, anniversaries, sympathy gestures, "get well soon" moments or even no occasion at all.

Businesses that understand these clusters — who buys what, when and why — can design targeted value bundles. Think: tulips and wine for spring, or dahlias and a heartfelt card for a sympathy gift.

Local growers can attract customers by emphasizing regional freshness and aligning their marketing with segments that buy frequently or prefer unique, artisanal flowers.

A budding future
Supported by the American Floral Endowment, a third paper from the same grant examines rose-specific buying behavior.

Whether it's roses from Ecuador or wildflowers from a Georgia farm, one thing is clear: Americans are still buying flowers — not just to give, but to enjoy.

And for marketers, growers and retailers, understanding those feelings might be the secret to keeping their businesses blooming.
 

Source: www.floraldaily.com

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