As the year comes to a close, I wanted to say a huge thank you to every single Flower Store In a Box customer for your continued support.
It’s been a challenging year for many businesses, and the floral industry has certainly experienced its fair share of ups and downs. As I do each year, this is a moment to pause, reflect on what we’ve achieved together and look ahead to where we’re heading next.
In this article, I’ll recap the key platform improvements and features released in 2025, share where I see the industry heading in 2026, and outline what’s coming next on our product roadmap.
Once again, thank you for your support. I wish you a safe, successful, and prosperous 2026.
2025: A Mixed Year for Many Businesses
For many Australian businesses, 2025 has been a mixed bag. The broader economy has been difficult, and discretionary spending particularly in online floral deliveries has been quieter than we’d normally expect.
The last few months of 2025 in particular have been noticeably slower. We’ve spoken with many of you about forward marketing strategies and how best to position your business heading into 2026.
One of the most significant shifts we’ve seen in the second half of the year and one that will only accelerate is a drop in traditional Google search traffic, combined with new traffic coming from AI chat engines such as ChatGPT.
The Rise of AI Search in 2026
2026 will mark the true dominance of AI-driven chat engines in how people search, not just for quick answers, but for recommendations, including where to buy flowers.
This shift fundamentally changes how florist websites need to be structured, optimised, and understood by machines.
In August 2025, we released a suite of new features specifically designed to ensure Flower Store In a Box websites are visible and preferred by AI search engines, including:
- Answer Engine Optimisation (FAQs) Clear, concise answers designed reminder people and AI engines alike.
- LLMS.txt files Helping AI platforms prioritise and understand the most important content on your website.
- Advanced local delivery structured data Training Google and AI engines exactly where you deliver, not just where you’re located.
A Note on AI
I see AI as both the biggest threat to traditional ecommerce models and one of the largest opportunities we’ve ever had.
People will always want to buy and send flowers. That won’t change.
What will change is how customers find you, how websites are managed, how products are presented, and how marketing is executed.
As a business, we now have access to technology that only a few years ago would have been unimaginable. That technology allows us to completely rethink how an ecommerce platform should work and what’s possible for small business owners.
AI isn’t the solution to everything, but it allows us to do more, faster, and more cost-effectively across the platform from banners and content to help systems and marketing tools.
FSIAB AI Assistant
One of the most exciting releases this year has been the FSIAB AI Assistant.
Initially, the assistant allows you to:
- Choose, customise, and schedule banners
- Block delivery dates
- Search help documentation and platform guidance
In 2026, this will expand significantly into deeper site management, marketing automation, and operational assistance.
Improved Ecommerce Tracking & Insights
This year we added a number of powerful new metrics to your ecommerce dashboard, giving you much clearer insight into customer behaviour.
New metrics include:
- Breakdown of charges (products, delivery, surcharges, discounts)
- Pages visited per checkout
- Time taken to complete a transaction
- Forward delivery date ordering trends
- Cart abandonment statistics
These insights help guide smarter decisions,especially around peak periods like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.
New Social Proof Widgets
We’ve recently added three new social proof widgets to help build trust and increase conversions across your site.
You can use one widget per page and mix them across different sections of your website:
- Recent Orders Widget
- Floating Google Star Rating Badge
- Floating Google Reviews Carousel
User Tracking Flows & Improved Checkout Error Logging
Understanding exactly how customers move through your website and where they get stuck is critical to improving conversions.
If a customer says “the checkout didn’t work,” it’s often because a validation error was missed. With improved user tracking flow charts and enhanced checkout error logging, you can now see:
- Every step a customer took
- Where they exited
- The exact error messages they encountered
This is especially valuable during high-pressure trading periods.
Enhanced Product Pages
We’ve just rolled out a brand-new enhanced product page template designed to give customers clearer information and improve usability.
New features include:
- New addon icons and images
- Business rules within categories
- Category restrictions
- Alcohol warnings
- Editable substitution policy
- Product FAQs
- Google review integration per product
- New trust & payment icons
- Delivery suburb lookup
- Icons for pet-friendly, hospital-friendly, and no-vase-required products
- Optional sticky mobile add-to-cart button
- Short product descriptions above pricing
- Expandable product descriptions
- Inventory display options
Updated Customer Loyalty Dashboard & Automated Loyalty Levels
We’ve also redesigned and enhanced the Customer Portal within your dashboard.
This new system allows you to set up automatic loyalty tiers, similar to airline frequent flyer programs.
Customers are assigned tiers based on lifetime spend. As they reach each threshold:
- They’re automatically upgraded
- They receive a personalised email (and optional SMS)
- Loyalty rewards are applied without manual intervention
Where Are We Going in 2026?
One of our core commitments is ongoing innovation,ensuring Flower Store In a Box remains the best ecommerce solution for florists.
In 2026, a major focus will be on how we harness AI to deliver more value for both florists and consumers.
We’ll be releasing a game-changing marketing engine that manages SEO and AEO together, designed to grow your business in an AI-first search world.
A snapshot of what’s coming in 2026:
- Agentic AI checkout with ChatGPT and Stripe
- Updated design and template layouts
- Improved checkout experience
- AI-driven SEO & marketing tools
- AI-generated product descriptions
- Stem counting and analysis
- New design updates across websites
- Product reviews
- Subscription products
- Updated manual order and order management screens
- Updated drivers app
Looking Ahead
2026 is going to be a fast-paced year, and we’re incredibly excited about what’s coming. Many of the tools we’re building will be true game-changers for florists operating in an increasingly AI-driven world.
Thank you again for being part of the Flower Store In a Box community. We look forward to building the future of florist ecommerce with you in 2026.
