> GIVE GIFTWARE A GO


INVENTORY INTENT Petra Janssen’s eye-catching displays at Wascana Flower Shoppe in Regina, Saskatchewan, are backed by a disciplined merchandising strategy. Each seasonal reset is carefully planned with set buying budgets and a focus on minimizing leftover inventory, ensuring the shop stays fresh, profi table and tightly curated.


Just as important, giftware and


other items can help transform a flower shop into a destination. Retailers across categories have found that when stores offer an experience — something that encourages customers to browse, dis- cover and linger — shoppers are more likely to buy and return. In Manhattan, FAO Schwarz offers concierge shopping tours and after-hours dinners with toy soldiers, while nearby at the American Girl store, visitors can dine on cinnamon rolls and sundaes with dolls. High-end lifestyle band, Canada Goose, created cold rooms where temperatures mimic the Yukon Territory for shoppers to test out its heavyweight outerwear. For florists, giftware can play the


same role, turning a quick stop into a memorable visit — and more revenue.


Where Shopping Is a Pleasure Even when buying necessities, people seek out places that make them feel good. That explains why shoppers have such loyalty to Publix, a supermarket chain founded in 1930 in Winter Haven,


Florida, which dominates grocery sales in the Sunshine State despite its pre- mium prices. Shoppers flock there for industry-leading customer service, cleanliness, intuitive layout, quality deli and bakery, and wide selection of specialty items, flowers and gifts — an ambiance frequently lauded in national publications, including Barron’s, Newsweek and People. Petra Janssen and her daughter, Tanya


Anderson, have cultivated this same atmosphere at Wascana Flower Shoppe in Regina, the capital city of the western Canadian province Saskatchewan. “We are all about giving clients an in-store experience,” says Janssen. Five times a year (Valentine’s Day, spring, summer, fall and Christmas),


the staff completely gut the sales floor and rebuild displays with new seasonal giftware and permanent botanicals, alongside fresh plants and flowers. Each refresh takes roughly a week and kicks off with an open house to introduce the new collection, offering a 20% discount as an incentive to drive excitement and early purchases. “It’s definitely an under- taking,” Janssen says. “But it’s worth it because we want to be a shopping des- tination where people linger and want to return.” At press time, the shop was


bedecked with Easter merchandise, including pre-filled eggs, Steiff bunnies and chicks, pastel macarons, potted peace lilies and stephanotis, and choco- late galore. The store also stocks a wide


Smart Moves in Giftware: Create a reason to visit • Refresh the entire store seasonally (5x/year) to keep it feeling new • Launch each reset with an event or open house to drive traffic • Stick to a buying budget based on past performance • Aim for minimal leftover inventory; repurpose what you can


26 FLORAL MANAGEMENT | May/June 2026 | WWW.SAFNOW.ORG


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