It's called supply and demand. Florists demand the orders and wire services have to find a way to supply that demand.
Why do (some) florists demand incoming orders so much? What caused them to increasingly rely on incoming orders?
I haven't been in this industry long enough, so the following is just my guess.
Some florists demand incoming orders because they don't have enough local orders to sustain their business. Why did they lose local customers, then?
Because (again, this is just my guess and no offense intended) they aren't providing a good "value." Not because these florists are doing anything sub-standard (although some of them probably are).
It is just that value perception of flowers has dramatically decreased, perhaps as much as 50% or more, compared to, say, 70's. As the result, consumers are now increasingly demanding more values (
either in quantity or in quality) for the same dollar amount.
Most local florists couldn't or, more likely, wouldn't adapt to this shifting landscape of floral market. Consumers abandoned the local florists as the result.
The same pricing pressure has also pushed many traditional florists to niche market, such as Wedding Specialists. Although Event/Wedding Specialists has been
relatively immune to the same pricing pressure as everyday florists have been experiencing, this relative sanctuary will not last forever.
I think that, for we local florists to not only survive but prosper, we need to increase the value of our offering, either in quantity or in quality or both. How can we do that without breaking the bank? - now that's the crux of the matter, as far as I'm concerned. That' the kind of thing I think about every day.
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