The retail flower business has its well-known purchase moments – Easter, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and so on. But in today's highly competitive marketplace, relying solely on these special days is no longer enough. "Retailers must constantly strive to create new purchase moments by doing different and unique things with flowers," says Geert Maas, who also ran his own successful flower shop in the Netherlands for 20 years. "However, creating new purchase moments in the customer's mind needs time and persistent marketing. An example of this is the 'Friday is Flower Day' campaign in the UK, which has slowly but successfully established Fridays as new day to    Geert Maas: designer step-by-step-
buy flowers."                                                         bouquets 2007

Emotion bouquets
Purchase moments are about creating new impulses for customers to buy flowers. To do this, Geert says you must get your message across clearly to your customers: "Let your flowers do the talking. Use creative labels that tell your customers a story. Such labels have messages like: 'I'm colorful'; 'I'll brighten your home'; 'I'm naturally good for you'; 'I will de-stress you'. And these 'emotion bouquets' can also express negative feelings: 'I'm angry' or 'I'm disappointed, with the flowers' shapes and colors expressing the emotions the customer wishes to impart." 
 
Simplicity
Research has shown that flowers create positive and optimistic feelings in people. "If you give someone a floral bouquet, their first reaction is always to smile," Geert explains. "Flowers are like medicine, but better, because they're healthy for you." This simplicity reflects a general trend in society. "Nowadays, people are searching for natural products and simplicity. Life's already difficult enough, so they value the simple messages associated with giving fresh, natural floral products."

Flower characters
Creating new purchase moments is also about creating new customers. Children and men represent two areas of growth and profit. "Creating a kids' line of flowers that's very expressive can be big business," Geert says. "Just like Disney cartoon characters, why not create flower characters that have personalities and talk to kids? This is a perfect idea for children's' birthday parties. The children simply glue things like noses, beards, glasses… on fresh, large-faced European flowers, like sunflowers, and create their own floral cartoon characters."

'Ferrari Red'
Men also offer another, albeit challenging, sales opportunity. "Create some ready-made, more manly type bouquets for men, using larger, rougher shaped flowers." Geert says. "'Ferrari Red' or 'Lamborghini yellow' bouquets that communicate that message would also appeal to men." Or for golfers, a 'hole in one bouquet', using white flowers resembling golf balls, with tees and other golfing items as extras in the bouquet. "There's so much more that can be done to create new purchase moments," Geert says, "but it requires thinking outside the typical flower box."