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Romantic shopping habits are revealed
VALENTINES GOODS: Mark Hotchkiss with Valentines Day goodies
POURING rain didn’t dampen the spirits of staff across the Robinson’s Group who braved the conditions to ready bouquets for one of the busiest days of the year for its Robinson’s Flowers and World Food Market teams – Valentine’s Day.
With just one day to go before Valentine’s 2013, last Wednesday, staff added the finishing touches to more than 2,000 hand-crafted red rose bouquets as well as hundreds more romantic gifts for eager partners throughout its expanding UK market.
For on island, staff worked to meet tight delivery deadlines to all Shoprite stores as well as the Robinson’s Prospect Terrace branch where around 700 bouquets and gifts were displayed.
Among complementary gifts such as balloons and truffle selections, a further 2,000 hand-picked single roses were also delivered to local shops and restaurants to treat visiting couples.
The Robinson’s World Food Market and Paddy’s Fish teams met the growing demand for Isle of Man produce overseas, and co-ordinated the delivery of hundreds more orders to customers in the UK and Ireland, with Paddy’s Smoked Salmon and Fresh Lobsters proving popular, but with Manx Shellfish and Paddy’s Fish Platters also adding to growing online demand for added variety in Valentine’s celebrations.
The pre-Valentine’s Day rush has become something of a tradition among many of the Robinson’s team, however, many reported something of an evolution in sales of the most popular Valentine’s Day gifts, which indicates a shift in customer preference away from the traditional red rose and chocolates combinations.
Whereas in previous years, for example, around 95 per cent of all sales consisted of red roses, this year the classic combination accounted for 75 per cent of total sales, a significant portion, but a significant drop.
The Robinson’s Flowers balance sheets saw a dramatic rise in the number of customers looking to treat their loved ones with other flower types, with orchids, lilies, tulips and carnations increasing in popularity. Similarly, many chose to complement the classic red rose bouquet with various, more exotic combination.
These findings are said to be in line with international retailer trends throughout the UK, which also showed diversification among Valentine’s Day buyers, such as search engine analysis for online deliveries queries in the period leading up to Valentine’s, found that novelty gifts, novelty chocolates, exotic flowers and charitable donations have become the gift of choice for many.
Meanwhile, search queries concerning restaurant bookings experienced a drop in favour of romantic home recipes and champagne and lobster hamper deliveries.
The ever increasing use of online ordering systems is no doubt a decisive factor in many of these results and it is with this in mind that the Robinson’s Group is committed to increasing and enhancing its online presence in 2013.
Mark Hotchkiss, chief co-ordinator at Robinson’s Post-a-Rose and Signature Flowers, said: ‘We have been very fortunate this year to have been in a position to offer our ever expanding portfolio of customers a series of Valentine’s Day gifts, which accommodates consumers’ desires to both diversify and economise in their gifts over the Valentine’s period.
‘Many are now looking online for inspiration and ideas to offer their loved ones gifts which are both memorable and cost-effective and our online presence has helped enormously in allowing us to monitor these trends and adjust our offering accordingly.
‘In our bid to provide the best service possible this does, of course, present a few added logistical obstacles, but these are easily overcome with the fantastic help and support of the team here at Robinson’s.’
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Weather for Isle of Man
Saturday 25 May 2013
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 7 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: South
