IMKT212 - Analysis of Challenges in Buying Flowers Online: A Report

This report delves into the challenges of selling flowers online, contrasting it with traditional brick-and-mortar approaches. It explores issues such as seasonal demand, price fluctuations, marketing effectiveness, supply chain management, and preservation techniques. The report compares the pros and cons of online flower purchases versus buying from local shops, highlighting aspects like freshness, cost, and customer satisfaction. It analyzes floral arrangement websites like Interflora, focusing on user-friendliness and potential improvements. Furthermore, it reflects on strategies a local florist could employ to leverage online resources, differentiate between good and bad website design for online sales, and attract both existing and new customers. The report concludes by summarizing the challenges, comparing online and offline sales approaches, analyzing strategies for website improvement, and discussing the merits of internet marketing for the flower industry. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and resources for students.

Running head: CHALLENGES OF BUYING FLOWERS ON INTERNET
CHALLENGES OF BUYING FLOWERS ON INTERNET
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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CHALLENGES OF BUYING FLOWERS ON INTERNET
Introduction
Flowers are the much needed for the occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, valentine’s
day, mother’s day , marriages etc. The business of selling flowers via internet is a new trend with
the sheer advancement of technology and to increase the sales in the flower industry through
online sources. The challenges that are coming on this way is the seasonal demand of flowers,
seasonal price ranges, adequate amount of marketing, proper supply chains, proper preservatives
and cold storages (Agababa 2016). In the pages ahead there would be descriptive note on
comparison between purchasing flower over internet and over telephone or go personally to
purchase it. Challenges faced using internet for purchasing flowers and ways to overcome it.
Analysis of the floral arrangement websites and its user friendliness for the online customers. My
personal choices and preferences of online flower delivery website. My opinion regarding the
future of online flower delivery and it’s marketing (Zilko, Hoebee and Edwards 2017). My
personal reflection on if I would be the local florist how would I approach the online resource for
my business and my judgements about good and bad website for online selling and also how to
encroach upon the existing and new customers on my website.
Comparison between purchasing flowers online and from shops
Buying flowers have more than one option in modern days. Now, people want to have
everything in their proximity. Purchasing flowers online via internet is another innovative ways
of shopping people prefer these days (McCallum et al. 2015). Both the ways has its respective
merits and demerits. Shopping of flowers online leaves less personal options to grab it and does
not allow to pay much heed to our choices. Besides, the limited collection, the flower
arrangements and bouquets necessarily may not be as fresh and enliven as one would get in the
local flower shops. In terms of cost ordering flowers from online may charge hefty as because

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the flowers include the charges of shipping that can be either from local shops or far away from
the customer’s locality. The online flowers and bouquets are often stuck while getting delivered
as the speedy delivery of flowers have more chances to arrive with its freshness otherwise
majorly it would be withered and somewhat stale which does not meet the customer’s demands
and also the catalogs of flowers the online delivery companies shows to their customers. In this
context, often the customers sent the dis satisfied feedback to the company or websites that
before ordering the merchandise chosen b the customer was something different and that was
actually promised to the customer, but it is often seen that after its delivery the customer has to
face the consequences of improper selection of the merchandise (Holajogi 2017). This is one of
the most important criteria that customers count upon. The online flower delivery companies
have to be depended on the distribution channels like suppliers to delivery persons to reach out
the product in the hands of customer that often creates communication barrier between the
customer and the company. Besides this the freshness is always questionable as it is waiting in
the stock unless it is been ordered. Whereas in the case of local florist shops the fresh bouquets
are kept, customer selects and purchase directly which make it easy and a fast process of selling
flowers. The client can select roses to customize their bouquet depending on personalized
occasions that s an added advantage of local shops (Singh, Kumar and Verma 2017). No delivery
charges, going to market locally to buy flowers and no added cost is incurred rather than the
price of the flowers itself. Generally it is available fresh and new as fresh flowers are brought
everyday by the dealers and they need not store for after purchase. No such dependability issues
involve in buying from local florists.
Difficulties using internet and Solutions

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CHALLENGES OF BUYING FLOWERS ON INTERNET
The difficulties of using internet facility for the business of selling flowers online is a
challenge these days. The highest challenge in the priority list is delivery on time and customer
satisfaction. For the business of flower delivery using internet source can be a huge challenge as
there is less scope of marketing for the specific product as people buy it depending on their
occasions and seasonal. Using internet sources can be little costly for the company as the demand
for the product is not so dense (Kapari 2016). Response from the customers may be less as most
often people prefer going to market for buying flowers rather ordering it online which is already
preserved in the stocks or cold storages. And everybody do not have equal demands for flowers
so it is difficult to segment customers for the product as internet marketing is suitable for bulk
deliveries. Also the price range of flowers gets high than market price as it adds the delivery and
other postage charges. Solution is to segment and research for the target customers for bulk
delivery and high sales.
Analysis
Interflora in Australia is the most impressive and popular floral arrangement website that
seems so user friendly as it is serving in more than 200 countries. I would prefer to order flowers
from Interflora because it offers flawless processed orders through cloud fax services. In order to
satisfy customers it incorporates the orders to local florist shops nearby to their customer’s
location.
The future that I can see for the online flower business via internet is that it has to
conduct proper market research to get the segmented and targeted customers so that at a click it
can reach number of customers (Allan 2017). Besides this, the online distribution networking for
such kind of perishable product must be wide and dense to get popularity and sales profit. If I
would be a randomly local florist, I would fetch online resource besides having a shop, just to

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deliver fast and fresh. I would approach existing customers about my website and also pitch
advertisements for getting new customers.
The good website can be one which is user friendly, open for review and feedback, that
shows product availability 24/7 and vast range of products. A bad website can be one which has
no user interface or customization option. That which do not support customers with alternative
options proper feasibility to place orders.
Conclusion
Based on the above discussion it can be inferred that there are certain challenges of
selling flowers online and the comparison shows that online and offline selling of flowers is
quite a different approach altogether. As per the analysis there are several ways that floral
arrangement websites can approach to increase sales. And finally the merits of the internet
marketing of flowers has been discussed.

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References
Anacleto, A., Negrelle, R.R.B., Cuquel, F.L. and Muraro, D., 2017. Profile and behavior of
flower consumer: subsidies for marketing actions. Revista Ceres, 64(6), pp.557-566.
Holajogi, M.B., 2017. Production and marketing of major flower crops in Haveri District–an
economic analysis (Doctoral dissertation, UASD).
Agababa, L., 2016. Flower Arrangement Jig. U.S. Patent Application 15/107,109.
Brown-Paul, C., 2016. A blooming industry?. Practical Hydroponics and Greenhouses, (174),
p.26.
McCallum, K.P., Breed, M.F., Paton, D.C. and Lowe, A.J., 2015. Clumped planting
arrangements improve seed production in a revegetated eucalypt woodland. Restoration Ecology.
Singh, K.P., Kumar, R. and Verma, P.K., 2017. Opportunities in floriculture for livelihood
security. Advances in Floriculture and Landscape Gardening, 66.
Allan, R., 2017. Apparatus for creating decorative floral arrangements incorporating cut
flowers with stems taken from living plants. U.S. Patent 9,629,486.
Zilko, J.P., Hoebee, S.E. and Edwards, T.J., 2017. Floral morphology of Eucalyptus leucoxylon
(Myrtaceae) facilitates pollination by lorikeet (Aves: Psittacidae) tongues. Australian journal of
botany, 65(4), pp.368-374.
Kapari, M.K., 2016. EFFECT OF GA3 AND BA ON GROWTH, FLOWERING, YIELD AND
POST-HARVEST PARAMETERS IN LILY (Doctoral dissertation, Institute of Agricultural
Sciences, Banaras Hindu University).
McCallum, K.P., 2018. Clumped planting arrangements can improve the ecological function of
revegetated eucalypt woodlands (Doctoral dissertation).

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