Australia’s gifting habits have taken a surprising and unusual turn according to the nation’s largest online retailer of delivered flowers and gifts.
Using sales data from the past two years, Roses Only have identified an increase in unconventional reasons for gifting flowers, from the incredibly sweet to the more bizarre.
Roses Only CEO Kelly Taggart says the company typically provides gifts of floral bouquets and fruit and wine hampers for a wide variety of occasions but has recently started seeing stranger types of gift giving.
“We’re accustomed to catering to the usual life events, like weddings and anniversaries, but over the last few years we’ve seen an uptick in customers ordering flowers for reasons that are a little more unusual,” says Ms Taggart.
Roses Only noticed a boost in the number of customers buying flowers to celebrate becoming single, husbands apologising to their spouse for various reasons and even tradies receiving or gifting flowers for mishaps or successes on the job.
“A lot of flowers are gifted following a date, we had one gentlemen gift flowers to his Tinder date for having the most kissable lips as well as nice coffee mugs, and another was thanking someone for being a good listener,” says Ms Taggart.
“We’ve also seen tradies send flowers to apologise for accidently parking someone in their driveway and another tradie received flowers for pulling off a ‘plumbing miracle’.
“A lot of husbands send flowers to say sorry, a more notable instance was a man who sent flowers to his wife for losing track of time and having a three-day boy’s trip.”
Other unconventional reasons for flower gifting included a man who sent natives to a Lorikeet because its owner had passed away and an aunt who sent flowers to her four-month-old niece after her first day at day care.
Roses Only data also showed an increase in the number of people gifting flowers to determine whether or not someone is single.
“A lot of people use flowers as a lovely way of breaking the ice – we’ve seen one person gift flowers to their ‘cute barista’ to see whether they were single; another sent flowers with a note asking for a Bunnings date,” says Ms Taggart.
“We also see beautiful reasons for flower gifting, one man sent a bouquet to say goodbye to his 94-year-old friend saying how different his life would have been if he got off the train to see her back in the 1950s.
“It’s very Australian to make the most of a terrible situation, and sometimes buying someone flowers is the best way to do that.
“Gifting flowers is no longer just for celebrating the best moments in life, but also unusual circumstances that you want to brighten up with a beautiful bouquet.”
Roses Only’s most unusual reasons for gifting flowers:
7. Celebrating being single
6. Aunt congratulates four-month-old niece on first day of day care
5. Bunnings date proposals
4. Tradies gifting or receiving flowers for mishaps or successes on the job
3. A man gifting a Lorikeet natives after its owner passed away
2. A Tinder date sent flowers to a woman for having kissable lips and nice coffee mugs
1. Husband says sorry for losing track of time for three days
Roses Only brings together almost 50 years of retail and floristry experience coupled with a national operation employing over 300 people and 11 florist studios with local teams of creative, passionate people preparing and packaging beautiful same-day delivery orders.
For more information on floral gifts, please visit www.rosesonly.com.au.
