The run-up to one of the floral industry’s biggest holidays was chaotic and filled with uncertainty —especially for florists in states with strict business closure and stay-at-home measures. Based on early feedback from industry members, however, the end result for businesses that could operate this year was a highly successful holiday.

SAF editors reached out this week to industry members for their “gut check” reactions to the holiday. Key takeaways include:

For businesses that could operate, sales were strong.

SAF Retailers Council member Rakini Chinery, AAF, AzMF, of Allan’s Flowers in Prescott, Arizona, said she had planned for sales to be down by about 75 percent this year. “In actuality, our sales were up 46 percent,” she said. The shop made use of a drive-thru window — a whimsical feature of the location that had real practical application this year. “I was surprised by the incredible number of orders we were able to take and fill and the fact that we did it with about 35 percent less staff,” Chinery said.

At Norton’s Flowers and Gifts in Ypsilanti, Michigan, SAF Board member Tim Galea accepted phone and website orders for “touchless” local delivery and curbside pick-up, along with florist-to-florist incoming phone orders. “We expected to do about 60 percent to 70 percent of what we did last year,” he said. “We ended up doing 122 percent of last year.” Also surprising: Galea said his average value order tracked nearly 40 percent higher than last year as well.

In Chicago, Lenny Walker of Kennicott Brothers said, “sales exceeded our expectations.” He noted that the longtime wholesaler, which has so far been able to keep its 15 Kennicott locations open during the crisis with delivery and curbside pick-up service options, saw a “surge of late-week orders.” That last-minute scramble related to the uncertainty inherent in the COVID-19 crisis: Many florists in the Midwest weren’t sure if they’d be able to operate just 10 days before the holiday.

DVFlora in Sewell, New Jersey, faced similar challenges leading up to Mother’s Day. The company’s wholesale distribution in the Northeast was open for the holiday with a “modified delivery schedule and pick-ups at distribution center a limited breadth of flower varieties,” said Tim Dewey, a member of SAF’s Wholesalers Council. “Demand was good for customers that were open,” he explained. “ exceeded expectations from a month ago, where three weeks ago the Northeast was in just about complete lockdown.”

Flowers and labor were in short supply.

A number of SAF volunteer leaders noted that they had to stop accepting orders because they ran out of flowers or simply didn’t have the labor pool to take on more work. “I was surprised by the lack of product in the supply channels,” said Galea.

Michael Pugh, AAF, of Pugh’s Flowers in Memphis, said he still “cannot believe the demand” for the holiday this year. Pugh, a member of the Society of American Florists’ board of directors, said he went into the holiday expecting sales to be down by 10 to 20 percent. Instead, sales increased by about 15 percent, even though the team stopped accepting cut flower delivery orders on Thursday night and all delivery orders on Saturday morning.

“We just did not have the staff capable of getting the fresh product made for delivery,” explained Pugh, noting that in Memphis he was able to open his storefront for customers as well, with social distancing measures in place.

Dewey said that DVFlora “in some cases too many orders to handle with limited product availability and lower staffing levels.” The company predicted it would end the holiday with sales up to 30 percent off of last year. Instead they are tracking 40 percent above, “and would have been a little higher if more product was available,” he explained.

In supply – focused SAF webinars ahead of Mother’s Day, industry members on the wholesaler, importer, grower and transportation side emphasized the challenges they faced in moving product this holiday season and the need for buyers to get their orders in as early as possible. Government restrictions on business operations, and in some cases confusion among business owners over whether they could operate for the holiday, created less demand and far fewer advanced orders as retailers grappled with how much product they should order and could realistically sell.

Communication was critical.

For many retailers, the key message they needed to communicate to customers this year was, “YES, we’re open for business.” Chinery also said she worked to ensure the orders she generated gave her team maximum flexibility, which was important given product and staffing limitations.

“Our website had a message that let people know we would have to make substitutions based on what was available to us,” she said. “We also offered only ‘no contact’ delivery. Our sales staff sold only designers’ choice. We let people give preferences but did not promise to meet their expectations. This gave us leeway to use what we had .”

Galea emphasized a point made by a trio of retailer panelists on a recent SAF holiday planning webinar: Customers stuck at home or working remotely seem to be more responsive to email marketing. “Our email blasts were particularly effective,” he said, noting that open rates for his holiday messages were 2 to 4 percent higher than usual.

Dewey and Walker both said educating their retailer customers about modified services and platforms has been a high priority, along with communicating with customers and employees about safety measures and considerations and keeping in close touch with vendors and industry partners.

“Our mission was to keep our employees safe and serve our customers,” Walker added.

Some Changes May Stick.

As industry members look ahead to a summer filled with social distancing and devoid of events, corporate work and traditional funerals and memorial services, some florists say the adaptations they made for Mother’s Day may have staying power. A number of retailers shared they are reconsidering factors such as the need for retail space or walk-in sales, along with questions about how they source fresh product and hard goods — and even where they locate their businesses and how many branches they want to operate.

“I’m considering my business to a more industrial area,” Chinery said. “The sales floor doesn’t seem to make a big difference in our sales, and we loved not dealing with a constant stream of walk-in clients .” Not having customers in the store “freed us up to fill more delivery orders,” Chinery added. “And people in the drive-thru had less choice, so they made up their minds faster.”

Chinery also said her reduced team might be part of a long-term solution to the survival of her business. “We will continue to work lean,” she explained.

Challenges are still ahead.

Even the strongest success stories from Mother’s Day are lined with the new reality of the COVID-19 crisis. Business owners in the industry say they’re still struggling to plan in uncertain times and challenged to comply with changing rules as they move forward beyond this holiday and into the summer.

On Mother’s Day, for example, Pugh had to field a call from his local labor department after someone reported the business for unsafe behavior. “Someone saw groups of three or four people working together without 6-foot separation or masks,” he said. “What they didn’t know was they were family members working together. We had our wives, nieces and nephews working in teams. The other designers were all 6 feet apart.” (Pugh said he’s offered masks and gloves to all employees.)

Walker added that “navigating the unknown is very consuming.”

“Our industry is based on patterns and understanding those patterns helps guide us in making good decisions,” he explained. “The increased level of optimism is very encouraging, getting ready to open for walk-in business is creating a high level of concern. We are working diligently to maintain the safety of our buildings. Our safety team is working with federal, state and local authorities to ensure we are doing all we can to keep everyone safe.”

Dewey underscored a key point: The industry is still far from business as usual.

“As we come out the holiday, I think everyone is gauging what demand will be like through the late spring and summer months, understanding that many of the staple events that keep the industry busy at this time have been canceled,” he said.

SAF is currently surveying its full membership on Mother’s Day returns. Look for that story, along with insight from an SAF consumer poll, next week.

Mary Westbrook is the editor in chief of Floral Management.