Marketing Tactics to Increase Millennial Floral Purchases
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Marketing Tactics to Increase Millennial Floral Purchases Study Sponsored by: About the American Floral Endowment & the Floral Marketing Research Fund The American Floral Endowment (AFE) is a nonprofit organization that funds research and scholarships in floriculture and environmental horticulture. Growers, wholesalers, retailers, allied industry organizations, and individuals contribute to and benefit from the AFE’s research and educational efforts. AFE’s vision is to foster strong research to sustain industry growth through generating and allocating dollars to fund scientific research based on industry need, promote cooperative and unique research projects, and disseminate results. endowment.org In 2008, volunteers of the American Floral Endowment (AFE) Board of Trustees established the Floral Marketing Research Fund (FMRF). The purpose of the FMRF is to collect funds from industry sources to be used in the support of funding consumer research benefiting the entire floriculture industry. This report is one of many projects funded by the FMRF. Other reports include a social FMRF.org media guide, a guide to floral tributes in funeral services, a study analyzing barriers to purchasing flowers from non-flower buyers, and more! Analysis and Report Contacts The analysis and report were generated by the following researchers: Dr. Chengyan Yue (primary investigator) Associate Professor, Bachman Endowed Chair in Horticultural Marketing Department of Applied Economics & Department of Horticultural Science University of Minnesota Email: [email protected] Shuoli Zhao Ph.D. student Department of Applied Economics University of Minnesota Dr. Alicia Rihn Post-doctoral Research Associate Food & Resource Economics Department University of Florida i FMRF / AFE – Marketing Tactics to Increase Millennial Floral Purchases Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Survey Procedure and Respondent Demographics ......................................................................... 2 Top Key Findings ........................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 1. Millennial Consumers’ Perceptions of Floral Products & Their Benefits ........... 8 Millennial Consumers’ Attitudes about Floral Products ................................................................ 9 Perceptions about Floral Products ................................................................................................ 11 Generating a Flower-Friendly Experience among Millennial Consumers ................................... 13 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 15 Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 16 Attitudes .................................................................................................................................... 16 Perceptions ................................................................................................................................ 17 Relevance & Engagement ......................................................................................................... 17 Customization & Personalization .............................................................................................. 19 Chapter 2. Millennials’ Purchasing Barriers & Important Floral Product Attributes ....... 21 Flower Consumption among Millennials................................ ...................................................... 22 Preferred Retail Outlets ................................................................................................................. 23 Millennials’ Barriers for Purchasing Floral Products ................................................................... 24 Local Florists – Barriers to Purchase and Ways to Improve Purchase Likelihood ...................... 27 Important Floral Attributes ........................................................................................................... 30 The Importance of Sustainable Attributes .................................................................................... 33 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 35 Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 36 Retail Outlet Selection .............................................................................................................. 36 The Price Barrier ....................................................................................................................... 36 Other Purchase Barriers ............................................................................................................ 36 Specific Recommendations for Florists .................................................................................... 37 Attribute Improvements ............................................................................................................ 38 ii FMRF / AFE – Marketing Tactics to Increase Millennial Floral Purchases Care Instructions ....................................................................................................................... 39 Sustainability-related Attributes ................................................................................................ 39 Chapter 3. Advertisements, Promotions, Loyalty Programs, & Subscription Services ....... 40 Floral Advertisements ................................................................................................................... 41 Preferred Sales Promotions ........................................................................................................... 44 Value Added Options .................................................................................................................... 45 Loyalty Programs .......................................................................................................................... 46 Subscription Services .................................................................................................................... 47 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 49 Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 50 Advertisements .......................................................................................................................... 50 Promotions – Sales and Value Added Options ......................................................................... 51 Loyalty Programs ...................................................................................................................... 52 Subscription Services ................................................................................................................ 53 Chapter 4. Marketing Flowers to Millennials - Social Media, Mobile, & Online Options .. 54 Social Media and Flowers ............................................................................................................. 55 Flowers and Mobile Devices ........................................................................................................ 61 Mobile Apps.................................................................................................................................. 62 Other Important Online Features .................................................................................................. 65 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 66 Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 67 Social Media .............................................................................................................................. 67 Mobile Devices / Apps .............................................................................................................. 69 Additional Online Features ....................................................................................................... 70 References ..................................................................................................................................... 71 APPENDIX 1: Detailed Suggestions for Marketing to Attract Millennials………………..72 iii FMRF / AFE – Marketing Tactics to Increase Millennial Floral Purchases Introduction Recent floral consumption trends show that younger consumers are purchasing fewer flowers than two decades ago (Zhao et al., 2016). However, young consumers (“Generation Y” or “Millennials”) are key players in the floral industry’s future. Millennials are individuals born between 1977 and 1994 and were between 20 and 38 years old (the time of the study). They are of interest to many industries because they are finishing college, entering the job market, and have more purchasing power than in previous years (Cui et al., 2003; Dawn and Powers, 2013). Specifically, millennial consumers