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Business 62 May | 2022 on social media, and 33.2% indicated that they do follow houseplant retailers on social media. e top social media platforms used by Purchasers: Facebook – 75.6% Instagram – 47.0% Twitter – 35.9% Pinterest – 31.4% SnapChat – 24.1% LinkedIn – 19.8% TikTok – 18.3% (While at the low end for Purchasers, TikTok usage is growing.) WHERE THEY BUY Home Improvement Stores (30%) and Independent Garden Centers (29%) are the top-rated vendor choices of the Purchasers for buying houseplants. Big-box/Super-discount Stores came in at 22%; Supermarket Florists at 17%; and Farmers Markets, Independent Florists, Wholesale Stores and Online Sites, all at 10%. at said, 36.9% of Purchasers said they had purchased household plants from online companies—perhaps a holdover from COVID-19 lockdowns or simply that there's a demand for vendors that enable consumers to make purchases from the comfort of their homes. Respondents—39.6%—said they prefer shopping online for houseplants, but 47.0% said they prefer to purchase in a store. e remaining 13.4% had no preference. Florists' Review has said it many times in the past: Be sure you have an excellent social media presence in as many formats as you dare. Just ensure that you post often and in an interesting way, and make it easy for customers to complete their transactions. With regard to e-commerce, 48.6% of Purchasers bought one to three houseplants via an online company, 25.5% bought four to six plants, 11.2% bought six to nine plants, and 6.9% bought 10 or more plants. However, the biggest barriers to purchasing houseplants online is the consumers' worry that the product will be damaged during shipping (25.5%) and not being able to physically see the product before purchasing (23.0%). Conversely, ease of ordering online and being able to order 24-7/365— both at 25%—were seen as huge benefits for Purchasers. In addition, Purchasers indicated that they planned to increase their online purchasing by 53% into 2021 and that they are moderately interested in purchasing through e-commerce channels in the future. HOUSEPLANT PURCHASES AS GIFTS Purchasers—74.7%—indicated that they were likely to purchase houseplants for themselves. Although 27.7% of Purchasers said they would not buy houseplants as gifts and 12.4% said maybe, the majority said they would by houseplants as gifts for specific occasions and holidays: Get-well – 75.1% said yes, 14.7% said no and 10.2% said maybe. Mother's Day – 72.9% said yes, 19.2% said no and 7.9% said maybe. Thank you – 71.7% said yes, 16.4% said no and 11.8% said maybe. Friendship – 67.2% said yes, 19.5% said no and 13.4% said maybe. No specific reason or occasion – 63.7% said yes. Birthdays – 59.9% said yes. Easter – 56.3% said yes, 29.7% said no and 14.1% said maybe. Valentine's Day – 55.2% said yes, 32.2% said no and 12.5% said maybe. Anniversaries – 49.7% said yes, 35.8% said no and 14.5% said maybe. Christmas – 47.0% said yes, 39.9% said no and 13.1% said maybe. Gift for a co-worker – 46.5% said yes, 39.5% said no and 14.0% said maybe. Thanksgiving – 33.3% said yes, 51.2% said no and 15.5% said maybe. New baby – 21.9% said yes, 62.3% said no and 15.8% said maybe. WHO IS BUYING HOUSEPLANTS For those wondering who is purchasing houseplants, wonder no longer. Houseplants are no longer the domain of unmarried millennials. e report states that, among Purchasers, there is representation across the board in age, gender, household size and geographic location. at doesn't narrow things down as far as trying to develop ways to market to specific customer bases—but that's great! You are afforded myriad opportunities for reaching this wide range of customers. It's not a one-size- fits-all industry! e report summed up by noting how houseplants have not only expanded to a new consumer segment for the green industry but also deepened the current houseplant appreciation of baby boomers and Generation X consumers. See Part 2 of our report on FMF's "Consumer Houseplant Purchasing Report 2021" in our June issue. Download a copy of the full report at: floralmarketingfund.org/wp-content/ uploads/2021/12/Consumer-Houseplant- Purchasing-Final-Report-2021-For-Public_ compressed.pdf

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