How can flowers enhance the feel-good factor for your retail or hospitality business?

Combine consumer psychology with an eye for floral design

Whether your business is hospitality or retail, your dream is to have a memorable brand that attracts customer loyalty. Pretty much every business coach guru type will tell you how important this is. Truth is, it takes a savvy mix of marketing techniques to make this happen. From step this way curb appeal to setting up loyalty programs, and social media marketing to new product inventory, making your business super noteworthy takes organization. And it’s a big investment in time and budget.

So while you’re mastering all of the above, what look and feel appeal can you add right now to make a definitive difference?

Adding fresh flowers makes for a swift and effective aesthetic change. And it probably costs less than the monthly snack and coffee bill for the break room.

That said, it’s still an added business expense. And you want, no you need, assurance that floral arrangements are actually going to assist your business. So let’s talk seriously for a minute or three about why and how they work.

While we know a lot about flowers and how to make beautiful arrangements for corporate and store settings, we’re not experts on why they work. But Ryan Hamilton is. He’s an Associate Professor of Marketing at Emory University and teacher and researcher of consumer psychology.

The remarkable effects flowers can have on your business

“Flowers are able to affect consumers in a couple of different ways,” says Hamilton. The first is to do with atmospherics. According to Hamilton, “This relates to the general environment of the store. People tend to want to stay in spaces where they feel welcome and comfortable. For many people, fresh flowers would contribute to that. And on average, the longer people stay in a retail space, the more they will spend.”

Flowers can also send subtle, stylish messages regarding the quality of your establishment. Hamilton explains, “They can serve as a peripheral cue that consumers might draw inferences from. A store, hotel, or restaurant that decorates with flowers is a place that’s investing in the customer experience. That sends signals that the retailer is higher end or likely has higher levels of service, and cares more about its customers. It’s also a sign that this is a place with the budget to spend on such things.”

Flowers can reflect the prices of products and services as well, says Hamilton. Usually, if there are flowers in store, then what’s being sold is likely to be at the higher-end of the investment scale.

So to summarize, flowers help create a welcoming ambiance and atmosphere which encourages people to stay and spend time and money. They also convey a sense of quality and class.

Bringing blooms into your space benefits your business in other ways too.

Flowers reinforce your branding

The right floral arrangement can complement and accentuate your business name, logo, and visual branding. You may have floral arrangements that mirror or borrow from the shape of your logo or only include blooms that tie in with your brand colors.

Flowers can also help set tone within a space. For example, crisp whites and greens create a cool, calm ambience, while pastel hues can make a space feel warm, joyful, and welcoming.

You could go deeper by looking into flower symbolism and choosing blooms that align with your brand values or mission. Sixteen personality types and the flowers that match them shows how flower symbolism works.

Flowers create sense and scent connections between you and your clients

Our senses help us form impressions of a place or event, and add to our lasting memories. In fact, scent marketing for retail is a whole thing. Different smells affect consumer behavior and how much someone is willing to spend. (Spoiler: simple scents led to people spending 20% more than they spend in stores using a complex scent or no scent at all.)

Florist tip: Using pine, citrus, lilies, and freesia in arrangements can help create that scent connection without being overpowering.

Beyond the scent connection, a well-placed arrangement can create visual focus and buzz. It can draw the eye to something, act as a focal point, or be a great talking point between staff and customers. (“Oh, those flowers are lovely.”)

Flowers keep staff and customers connected with nature

Spending a lot of time indoors is unavoidable when you work in either hospitality or retail. Sometimes guests and customers end up being in the space for 30, 60, 90 minutes or entire days and nights. (Think conference attendees or hotel guests.) While this may not sound like a long time to be confined inside, the benefits of plants and flowers on people’s health and happiness (wherever we find them), are well documented. They can:

• boost compassion levels
• encourage genuine smiles
• increase productivity
• reduce stress.

Indoor flowers can also convey the restorative connotations associated with being outside and close to nature.

• Being outside gives people a sense of freedom and space.
• Outside has fresh air, it’s easier to breathe, feel calm, and see things clearly.

People often want to escape to nature when they need a break and a sense of positive renewal. Bringing plants and flowers into your business captures those positive outdoorsy associations and endorphins.

Flowers offer share-worthy opportunities

Evocative photos of beautiful flowers always make for great social media posts. (See here for proof.) Striking floral images are not only useful for your own content. They offer free marketing and advertising opportunities too, as your customers and staff will be tempted to photograph them.

Add brand-building impact, by placing the arrangement close to your business logo or name so it’s captured in the background. And if you see people snapping away, remember to ask them to tag you.

How to make a positive marketing impact with your flowers

Getting the maximum marketing return from your florals depends on where you place them and the impact you want them to have. The sort of business you run will influence these decisions. A retail business will use flowers differently to how a hospitality venue uses them.

Drawing on our experiences of creating arrangements for different businesses and seeing where and how they used them, we’ve put together some inspiration points to get you started. Skip to the section that best describes your business.

Hotel, B&B, and motel
Restaurants and bars
Stores and retail
Health and beauty
Solo businesses and freelancers

Ideas for hoteliers

For a positive first impression make sure you have flowers in the lobby. Position them on the reception desk, by the concierge area, or if you have a small seating area near check in.

Beyond this, you may consider adding flowers in:

• the communal lounges
• any forecourts or concourses
• to any major feature or focal point you have in communal or dining areas.

Suggestions for restauranteurs

Large arrangements create fabulous focal points so you may use them to draw guest’s attention to something important or useful such as:

• a counter, bar, or service area
• an interior design feature
• the entrance and exit.

Make sure your positioning doesn’t obstruct guests or get in the way of staff trying to work in a bar or service area.

For extra interest, you may want your floral arrangements to reflect seasonal changes, just as your menu might.

Inspiration for stores and retail

Your flower power may begin in your window, using attractive displays to draw shoppers in and increase curb appeal. Repeat motifs from the window display arrangement in store, creating continuity for the customer as they move from outside to inside.

Once in store, place flowers by the payment area to affirm your customer’s feelings of happiness and joy about their new purchase. Beyond this, you might consider using flower arrangements to draw attention to any promotional offers or marketing campaigns you have running. Or to enhance product displays.

Tips for health and beauty businesses

As in retail, flowers on the reception and payment areas assist with positive first and last impressions. Placing flowers close to signature or sale products can help draw attention to them. But the symbolism of flowers can also play a useful role too.

Flowers such as chamomile, peony, and orchids symbolize healing and strength. Placing arrangements in your window that include these blooms may help communicate what your business does.

Finally, you might want to consider having flowers in your treatment rooms. If you do this, our tip is to keep the arrangement simple (a single flower and some foliage) and use low-fragranced flowers such as Calla Lilies.

Solo businesses and freelancers

You don’t have to have an external premises to get in on the corporate flower action. Use arrangements to brighten up your home office, boost your productivity, and be the backdrop for your Zoom meeting and social posts.

Get the flower arrangements you need

So now you know adding flowers can

• benefit your retail or hospitality business
• be a fast and effective way to make a change without spending a fortune
• promote products, help customers, and assist with your marketing.

Now let’s figure out where to source the flowers you need.

You could pick up the flowers yourself from a store or local florist and spend time arranging them. Or, if you’re a keen gardener, you may have access to cut flowers from your own garden. (As a sustainable fresh flower florist, we love how Earth friendly this idea is.)

However, if you’re like most business owners, you’re probably already spinning a lot of plates. Sourcing and installing flower arrangements probably isn’t high on your list of business priorities.

In this case, you might choose to work with a corporate flower design company to set up a flower subscription.

A regular flower subscription involves briefing a florist so you:

• get the arrangements you need
• have fresh flowers delivered as often as you need them. (Usually once or twice a week for retail and hospitality businesses.)

All you need to do is point to where you want them placed. Easy.

Give your business the wow-worthy arrangements that help your products and spaces pop with energy. Start your flower subscription.