Florists and Flower Shops Industry Terminology

Add-on Sale

An incremental item sold alongside the main purchase to boost order value and enhance the gift (e.g., chocolates, balloons, candles, premium vases).

- "Would you like to add a box of truffles or a balloon to your bouquet?" - "Upsell a premium vase as an add-on to increase AOV." - "Suggest a handwritten card as an add-on at checkout."

Arrangement

A designed composition of flowers and foliage, typically presented in a container (vase, bowl, basket) and ready for display.

- "Please design a low, lush coffee-table arrangement in whites and greens." - "Our 'Designer’s Choice Arrangement' is the bestseller online." - "We’ll deliver the arrangement in a glass cylinder vase."

Aquapack

A water-filled bag or hydration wrap secured to stems to keep bouquets hydrated during transport without a vase.

- "Wrap the hand-tied bouquet in an aquapack for the courier run." - "Use aquapacks for hospital deliveries where vases aren’t allowed." - "Aquapacks help maintain hydration when there’s no water source in transit."

Average Order Value (AOV)

Total revenue divided by number of orders; a key metric for revenue optimization.

- "Our Valentine’s AOV hit $98 after we bundled chocolates." - "Raising AOV by $5 adds meaningful profit over the quarter." - "Track AOV weekly in the POS dashboard."

Bouquet

A collection of stems bunched together, often hand-tied; typically not arranged in a container.

- "Hand-tied bouquet with seasonal blooms and eucalyptus." - "Market bouquet special: 10 stems for $20." - "The bridal bouquet will be all white peonies and garden roses."

Boutonniere

A small wearable floral placed on a lapel, usually a single flower with accents, for weddings and proms.

- "Pin-on rose boutonniere for prom, add magnets on request." - "Groom’s boutonniere to coordinate with the bridal bouquet." - "Keep boutonnieres boxed in the cooler until pickup."

Bud Vase

A small, narrow vase designed for one to a few stems, often used for simple, budget-friendly designs.

- "Offer a bud vase option at the $25 price point." - "Single-stem bud vase program for restaurant tables." - "Bud vases are great add-ons for office deliveries."

Casket Spray

A large floral design placed atop a casket; available as full (closed casket) or half (open casket).

- "Half-casket spray for an open casket service." - "Family requested a full casket spray in red roses." - "Coordinate the casket spray palette with the standing easels."

Cold Chain

The temperature- and humidity-controlled process from farm to consumer that preserves freshness and extends vase life.

- "A break in the cold chain shortens vase life." - "Keep boxes sealed and move them to the cooler immediately." - "We log cooler temps to verify our cold chain."

Conditioning

Post-harvest prep to maximize hydration and longevity: re-cut stems, remove submerged foliage, use hydration/holding solutions, and rest in cooler.

- "Strip lower foliage and re-cut stems before hydrating." - "Hydrate roses in a holding solution for at least 2 hours." - "Snapdragons need upright conditioning to avoid bent necks."

Corsage

A small wearable floral, usually worn on the wrist or pinned, often for weddings and proms.

- "Wrist corsage with white spray roses and ribbon." - "Pin-on corsage for the mother of the bride." - "Offer magnet-backed corsages to protect delicate fabrics."

Delivery Radius

The geographic area the shop serves for deliveries, often used to set zone pricing and delivery fees.

- "We deliver within a 12-mile radius of the shop." - "Extend the radius on Mother’s Day with a delivery surcharge." - "Map your radius zones for accurate checkout pricing."

Delivery Window

A specified time range for delivery arrival used to plan routes and set customer expectations.

- "Business deliveries 9 AM–5 PM; residential 1–7 PM." - "Offer a paid, narrow window for funeral home deliveries." - "Confirm the hospital’s delivery window before dispatch."

Designer’s Choice

A product where the florist selects stems and style within a budget and color palette, allowing flexibility with inventory.

- "Designer’s Choice in soft pastels at the $85 tier." - "Use Designer’s Choice during shortages for flexibility." - "Designer’s Choice helps showcase seasonal flowers."

Design Recipe

A stem-by-stem plan for a design (quantities and components) used for costing, purchasing, and consistency.

- "Recipe: 12 roses, 5 ruscus, 3 waxflower, 1/4 brick foam." - "Standardize recipes to control COGS and quality." - "Update the peony recipe for larger blooms in May."

eCommerce Platform

Software for online ordering, product pages, payments, and checkout; often integrated with POS and delivery tools.

- "Our Shopify site integrates with our POS for inventory sync." - "We migrated to BloomNation for florist-specific features." - "Ensure the platform supports delivery date/time selection."

Easel Spray

A large, typically vertical funeral tribute displayed on a standing easel.

- "Two standing easel sprays flanking the casket." - "Deliver the easel spray to the funeral home an hour early." - "Securely attach the spray to the easel to prevent tipping."

Ethylene Sensitivity

The susceptibility of certain flowers to ethylene gas, which accelerates senescence; mitigated by good airflow, cleanliness, and inhibitors.

- "Keep lilies away from ripening bananas to avoid ethylene." - "Use ethylene inhibitors for sensitive varieties." - "A cold chain breach can amplify ethylene damage."

FIFO (First-In, First-Out)

Inventory rotation method where older stock is used or sold before newer arrivals to minimize waste.

- "Rotate buckets daily—FIFO prevents shrink." - "Use older tulips first when prepping Designer’s Choice." - "Train staff to pull from the front per FIFO."

Floral Foam

Porous, water-absorbing foam used to anchor stems and supply water in arrangements; increasingly supplemented by foam-free techniques.

- "Use wet foam for that compact sympathy arrangement." - "Consider foam-free mechanics for sustainability." - "Secure foam with anchor tape before designing."

Floral Hardgoods

Non-perishable supplies such as vases, tape, wire, ribbon, pins, easels, baskets, and mechanics.

- "Order more cylinders, floral tape, and wire." - "Hardgoods markup differs from fresh markup." - "Track hardgoods SKUs separately in the POS."

Floral Preservative (Flower Food)

A solution (sugars, acidifiers, biocides) added to bucket or vase water to promote hydration and reduce bacteria.

- "Add preservative to buckets at label rate." - "Include a flower-food packet with each bouquet." - "Switch to a holding solution for longer storage."

Florist Wire Service

A network and clearinghouse that enables florists to send (wire-out) and receive (wire-in) orders across regions.

- "We wire-in orders from out-of-area customers." - "Wire-out a sympathy piece to a partner near the service." - "Compare fees between Teleflora and FTD before choosing."

Gross Margin

Sales minus cost of goods sold (COGS), typically expressed as a percentage; key for profitability.

- "Target a 65% gross margin on arrangements." - "Recipe costing helps protect gross margin." - "Holiday demand allows a temporary margin increase."

Hand-Tied Bouquet

A bouquet constructed in the hand using a spiral technique, usually finished with tape and ribbon, often delivered in an aquapack.

- "Create a spiral hand-tie for better stem placement." - "Offer hand-tied bouquets wrapped in kraft paper." - "Finish the hand-tie with satin ribbon and pins."

Hydration Solution

Specialized liquids (hydrators/quick-dips) used to open capillaries and boost water uptake immediately after re-cutting.

- "Quick-dip the ranunculus before hydrating." - "Use a hydration solution when flowers are flagging." - "Switch to holding solution after initial hydration."

Inventory Turnover

How often inventory is sold and replaced during a period; high turns indicate efficient use of stock.

- "We’re turning fresh inventory 2.5 times per week." - "Improve turns by tightening standing orders." - "Higher turns usually cut shrink and improve cash flow."

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

Quantifiable metrics that reflect performance against goals (e.g., AOV, gross margin, on-time delivery rate, shrink).

- "Track AOV, on-time delivery, and shrink as KPIs." - "Set a KPI for five-star review rate." - "Monitor website conversion rate as a KPI."

Lead Time

The time between placing an order and receiving goods from a supplier; varies by product and season.

- "Order peonies with a 7–10 day lead time." - "Holiday lead times are longer; pre-book early." - "Allow extra lead time for dyed or tinted product."

Local SEO

Improving visibility in local search and maps through optimized profiles, reviews, citations, and localized content.

- "Optimize Google Business Profile for 'florist near me'." - "Ask for reviews to boost local rankings." - "Add local delivery pages for target neighborhoods."

Markup

A pricing factor applied to cost to determine selling price; often expressed as a multiple or percentage.

- "Use a 3x markup on fresh stems to hit margin goals." - "Hardgoods markup is typically lower than fresh." - "Review markups ahead of peak holidays."

MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity)

The smallest quantity a supplier will accept for an order, often set per variety or box type.

- "The farm’s MOQ on garden roses is five bunches." - "We can’t meet the MOQ—combine with our standing order." - "Negotiate MOQs for off-season imports."

Net 30

Payment terms indicating that an invoice is due 30 days after the invoice date.

- "Our wholesaler invoices are Net 30." - "Ask for Net 30 terms after three months of on-time payments." - "Watch cash flow when multiple Net 30 bills hit."

Occasions Calendar

A planning tool that maps key sales dates (holidays, proms, funerals) to staffing, purchasing, and marketing.

- "Load Valentine’s, Mother’s Day, prom, and Admin Day into the calendar." - "Use the calendar to plan staffing and pre-orders." - "Promote birthdays and anniversaries via the occasions calendar."

Omnichannel

Delivering a consistent experience across in-store, phone, website, and third-party marketplaces, with unified inventory and customer data.

- "Sync pricing across web, phone, and in-store for an omnichannel experience." - "Route online orders to the POS for omnichannel fulfillment." - "Offer chat and text for omnichannel customer service."

Order Cut-off Time

The latest time an order can be placed for same-day or next-day delivery.

- "Same-day delivery cut-off is 1 PM local time." - "Extend cut-off to 3 PM during slower months." - "Set earlier cut-offs on peak holidays."

Peak Holiday

Periods of exceptionally high demand (e.g., Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day) that require special pricing, menus, staffing, and logistics.

- "Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day are our peak holidays." - "Implement a holiday menu and surge staffing for peaks." - "Adjust substitutions policy during peak demand."

POS (Point of Sale)

The system that processes transactions, manages inventory and customer data, and supports delivery and reporting.

- "Use the POS to print delivery tickets and enclosure cards." - "Our POS syncs inventory with the website." - "Track customer history and AOV in the POS CRM."

Pre-Order

An order placed in advance with a supplier or by a customer, commonly used for holiday planning and scarce varieties.

- "Pre-order roses from the farm two weeks out." - "Encourage customers to pre-order for Mother’s Day." - "Pre-orders help smooth production scheduling."

Proof of Delivery (POD)

Evidence that an order was delivered, such as a photo, signature, or GPS timestamp, used to confirm fulfillment and resolve disputes.

- "Capture a doorstep photo as POD." - "Signature required for business deliveries as POD." - "Use GPS-stamped POD in case of disputes."

Purchase Order (PO)

A formal document sent to a supplier specifying items, quantities, and agreed prices for an order.

- "Issue a PO for 20 bunches of roses and 10 hydrangea." - "Reference the PO number when reconciling invoices." - "Send POs to confirm pre-booked holiday product."

Recipe Costing

Calculating the cost of an arrangement based on its design recipe to set price and maintain target margins.

- "This $85 design has a $28 COGS per recipe." - "Tighten recipes to protect margin during peaks." - "Use the recipe to prep pick lists for production."

Reflexing

A design technique that gently rolls back outer petals (commonly on roses) to increase bloom size and impact.

- "Reflex the outer rose petals for a fuller look." - "Reflexing helps roses read larger on camera." - "Don’t reflex if petals are fragile or bruised."

Route Optimization

Planning delivery sequences to minimize time and distance while meeting delivery windows and capacity.

- "Use route optimization to reduce drive time by 20%." - "Cluster deliveries by ZIP code before routing." - "Re-run the route when last-minute orders come in."

SKU

Stock Keeping Unit; a unique identifier for a specific product or component used for inventory and sales tracking.

- "Assign a unique SKU to each vase size." - "Bundle SKUs for holiday sets in the POS." - "Track SKU-level shrink to spot problems."

Standing Order

A recurring purchase agreement with a supplier (e.g., weekly fresh product) to ensure consistent availability.

- "We have a weekly standing order for eucalyptus and roses." - "Adjust the standing order down after Mother’s Day." - "Add peonies to the standing order for May only."

Substitution Policy

Guidelines for replacing unavailable flowers or containers while preserving value, color palette, and design intent.

- "Our policy allows color substitutions of equal value." - "During peaks, we follow the substitution policy closely." - "Publish the policy on product pages to set expectations."

Vase Life

The length of time flowers remain fresh after purchase; influenced by variety, handling, and environment.

- "Proper conditioning can extend vase life by days." - "Varieties differ—carnations have longer vase life than tulips." - "Breaks in the cold chain shorten vase life."

Visual Merchandising

The strategic presentation of products and displays to attract customers and increase conversions in-store and online.

- "Create a color story in the front display to boost sales." - "Use verticality and odd numbers in merchandising." - "Refresh displays weekly to feature seasonal blooms."

Walk-in Cooler

A refrigerated room for storing fresh product under optimal temperature and humidity to preserve quality.

- "Maintain 34–38°F and 80–90% humidity in the cooler." - "Don’t store fruit in the walk-in to avoid ethylene." - "Sanitize buckets and floors to keep the cooler clean."