As we do every year at this time, we’re already looking ahead to Valentine’s Day, which is now just under six weeks away.
This year, we’re recommending a slightly different approach compared to previous years, using real platform data from past Valentine’s periods to guide decisions.
OverView
- Floral Consumer Behaviour
- General Pre-Ordering
- Valentine’s Day Ordering Behaviour
- Valentine’s Day Marketing Setup Timing
- Three Weeks Before Valentine’s Day
- One Week Before Valentine’s Day
Floral Consumer Behaviour on Flower Store In a Box
One of the key benefits of using a platform like Flower Store In a Box is the deep insight we have into how customers interact with florist websites.
From more than two decades of data, we know that online floral consumers behave in remarkably similar ways, regardless of location or florist size.
Ordering patterns — from pre-ordering behaviour to the time of day customers place orders — follow very consistent trends.
Most daily orders occur in the two hours leading up to the same-day order cut-off time.
An interesting insight is that the later you push back your same-day cut-off, the more same-day orders you tend to receive overall. If a customer can’t place a same-day order with you, there’s a strong likelihood they’ll look for another florist who can fulfil it.
General Floral Pre-Ordering
Across the platform:
- Over 80% of all floral orders are placed within two days of the delivery date
- Around 60% are ordered same day
- Approximately 15% are ordered one day prior
- This drops to around 8% two days prior
There are always fascinating outliers. We occasionally see customers start an order a year or more in advance, abandon it, then return much later — often via a new Google search — and complete that order or place a new one. However, the averages are very consistent:
- Average days to order: 2.62
- Orders completed within two days: 80.3%
- Same-day orders: 59.8%
Where we see higher-than-average same-day ordering is with florists that have a strong hospital delivery focus.
These florists average close to 79% same-day orders.
This makes sense — hospital deliveries usually involve greater urgency, whereas birthdays, sympathy, and general occasions allow more flexibility.
Valentine’s Day Ordering Behaviour
Unsurprisingly, these patterns are very similar for Valentine’s Day.
Looking across many years of Valentine’s Day data:
- The majority of orders occur in the final three days
- Most orders are placed the day before Valentine’s Day and on the day itself
Key figures:
- Average pre-order period: 3 days (including same day)
- Peak ordering day: The day before Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day Marketing Setup Timing
The million-dollar question is when to start marketing Valentine’s Day with banners, pop-ups, and homepage changes.
It’s tempting to turn everything on right now — but it’s far too early to actively market Valentine’s Day.
What to Do Right Now
Check You Haven’t Blocked the Date
Make sure 14 February 2026 has not been automatically blocked for ordering in your system.
Valentine’s Day Category & Products
By now, you should already have:
- A Valentine’s Day product category
- Valentine’s Day products created and ready
This should not be left to the last minute.
It’s probably a little early to add Valentine’s Day to your main navigation, but the category should at least be linked from your footer.
Category Restrictions
If you plan to restrict orders to only your Valentine’s Day category, set this up now.
The restriction will be active, but the notice will only appear on the website in the 14 days leading up to Valentine’s Day.
Check You Can Order for Valentine’s Day
Place a test order
Make sure customers can actually order flowers for Valentine’s Day without issues.
Delivery Date Surcharges
Many florists apply a delivery date surcharge to cover additional staffing and logistics costs.
If you plan to do this, set it up now.
Three Weeks Before Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day Banners
As with the Christmas banners, Valentine’s Day banners can now be published via the FSIAB AI Assistant in your dashboard.
To get started, open the Assistant and type:
Show banners
We don’t recommend publishing banners until 2–3 weeks before Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day Navigation
If you haven’t already, add a Valentine’s Day Flowers link to your main navigation.
After Valentine’s Day, keep the page live but move the link to your footer. This ensures you retain SEO value year-on-year instead of starting from scratch.
Plan Delivery Capacity and Inventory
Over-promising and under-delivering is every florist’s worst nightmare on Valentine’s Day.
Set Daily Order Limits
Work out your realistic capacity. For example:
- 4 drivers
- 2 shifts per day
- 15 deliveries per shift
Total: 120 deliveries per day
Once you hit your limit, stop accepting delivery orders for that day.
One Week Before Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day Products on Your Homepage
Your homepage is one of your most important landing pages.
We recommend featuring a curated selection of Valentine’s Day products — not replacing your entire homepage.
Completely swapping to a single Valentine’s category can reduce conversions for non-Valentine’s orders.
Communicate Clearly with Customers
Customers want reassurance, especially during peak periods.
Use built-in SMS notifications to reduce inbound support calls:
- Order confirmation
- Order ready for pickup
- Order out for delivery
- Order delivered
Add All Orders to Your Dashboard
Track all orders — online, phone, and in-store — in your Flower Store In a Box dashboard.
Use manual or quick order tools and apply simple or advanced workflows as needed.
Pause Review Requests
Consider pausing automated review requests for a few days before and after Valentine’s Day.
