HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The day before Valentine’s Day calls for a last-second setting up of how you’ll serenade your sweetheart. For The Flower Shoppe of Providence, it’s the annual amount of “fabulous and crazy busy,” says store manager Jessa Harris.
Harris says Valentine’s is the second-busiest day of the year behind Mother’s Day but it’s still one that follows months of preparation.
“Starting in December, we start ordering our flowers to make sure ... or hoping that they would arrive on time and right up to weeks before we prep to make sure we have all the supplies we need,” she said. “It’s not just the flowers. It’s the bears, it’s the balloons, it’s also staffing up to make sure we have enough staff, enough drivers to drive all over the North Alabama area.”
The National Retail Federation - a Washington, D.C. organization that advocates for increased economic activity on small-scale goods - projects nearly 26 billion dollars to be spent on V-Day, the highest in the 18 years of their tracking. This year, they polled over 7,000 adults in the United States and found that the average person would spend $192.80 cents on their gifts, outing or experience.
Back at The Flower Shoppe, holiday arrangements are going from $60 to the hundreds. Single stems can go for a few bucks. Overall, it’s $10 increase of $10 on average from last year.
“It’s a mix between a dozen roses and flower arrangements,” Harris said of their holiday offerings. “We have those that just love their dozen roses and are real classic and we have those that love our style and our fresh flowers.”
As for what goes into designing arrangements, it’s all personal for her.
“We carry a different line of gift products and it’s stuff I would want.”