Cut flowers are no longer a specialty item reserved for florists or formal events. Today, you're just as likely to find a bouquet near the produce aisle, at the checkout line of a pharmacy or even nestled beside snacks at a gas station.
As fresh flowers become a more familiar feature in a variety of retail spaces, their role in everyday life is evolving - and so are the people who buy them.
To understand this trend, a team of researchers at the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences combined horticulture and agricultural economics to explore not just what flowers people buy, but why, how often and what those habits say about broader consumer behavior.
Who's buying flowers and why?
The nationally representative study of more 8,500 consumers found there is no such thing as a "typical" flower buyer.
Using cluster analysis, a statistical method common in marketing, the researchers identified 13 distinct types of flower consumers.
They include (among others):
- The Valentine's Day segment, which are mostly male and big on roses.
- The anniversary-only givers.
- The home-use-only shoppers who buy flowers for themselves.
- The everything cluster, which consists of shoppers who purchase flowers for all types of occasions and spend the most.
Through open-ended responses analyzed with word clouds, the researchers uncovered that consumers associated flowers with everything from "beauty" and "smell" to "waste" and "expensive."
Still, the benefits were clear: People who purchased flowers in the past year were more likely to report feeling better at home and at work. They experienced improved mood, reduced stress and even better overall morale. The perception of the psychological benefits was especially strong for those who made recent purchases.
"There's a perceived benefit of buying flowers - whether it's real or not. People feel they're getting something valuable from the experience," said Ben Campbell, co-author of the study and a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at CAES.
Flower acreage more than doubled between 2017 and 2022
While the emotional pull of flowers is strong, the supply chain behind them is global - and complicated. Imports, particularly roses from Colombia, still dominate the U.S. market. But the domestic industry is growing.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was a turning point. Events like weddings and funerals plummeted, leaving the floral industry scrambling. Flower farms bulldozed entire crops.
But something unexpected happened. With everyone stuck at home, people began buying flowers to brighten their spaces. Grocery stores and even convenience stores started stocking up. Cut flowers became a kind of self-care.
"It became almost like therapy," said Julie Campbell, lead author of the study and an assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture. "The habit stuck around."
That shift also sparked new growth. Open-field flower acreage in the U.S. more than doubled between 2017 and 2022, thanks in part to local farms growing flowers that don't ship well, like zinnias and dahlias.
These farms aren't trying to compete with mass-produced roses from Colombia. Instead, they're carving out space in the growing market for local, seasonal varieties.
Whether it's roses from Ecuador or wildflowers from a Georgia farm, one thing is clear: Americans are still buying flowers - not just to give but to enjoy.
