Poinsettia sales are a little sluggish for us this fall. I think that there are a lot of garden centers who are taking a really hard look at poinsettias and whether or not to carry them this year. I can see their point of view on that and why they wouldn’t want to carry them. What we are suggesting is that they carry the larger sizes and different colors to set them apart from the chains. At least that way, they can still have poinsettias for their loyal customers.
To me there is nothing more frustrating than to find a product I like then have a store stop carrying it. Not only have I wasted a trip, I now have to spend more time looking for a replacement. With poinsettias it may be as easy as going to the chain store, but do you really want your customers spending money at a chain store after they came to spend the money with you? What else are they going to buy there that they could have bought with you?
Several of the garden centers I spoke to that said they were not going to carry poinsettias this year cited poor sell through as the main reason for not having poinsettias again.
Here are some other suggestions on what garden centers can do with poinsettias:
- Give them away as door prizes or spontaneously to the loyal customers who do visit your store in the winter.
- Sell them at cost as a promotion or as an add on to bigger ticket items.
- Partner with a local fundraiser to sell poinsettias.
- Create decorating packages that includes poinsettias.
- Advertise and promote your poinsettias specifically, some people may not know you have poinsettias.
- Swap poinsettias for goods and services with local businesses (we swap poinsettias to the local arts centers for sponsorship).
- Team up with local businesses to have special events where you provide the poinsettias.