Ray thinks of flowers as an affordable luxury item – a “great barometer” of how the Australian economy is fairing.
“We redesigned a bunch of products to lower our price points to make them more accessible for people, so people still want to be able to share the love,” she says. “We’ve really adjusted our products to suit where people are, where the economy is, and what our customers are looking for at the moment.”
Despite preparations for the holiday beginning in November, when she started placing orders with growers, Ray anticipates hoards of last-minute deliveries. In the last few days, the Daily Blooms warehouses were bustling with workers filling vases and cutting ribbons.
The company’s main demographic – women aged 25 to 45, who tend to buy flowers year-round – overlaps with the same age group that the ARA has found to be spending less this year.
For Valentine’s Day, however, Daily Blooms has noticed a shift, with customers buying bouquets as a symbol of self-care or self-love. There’s also been an increase in “buying for your bestie” and close friends, and the company has created specific products for that trend.
That shift may be due to Galentine’s Day, a term coined by the character Leslie Knope on cult American sitcom Parks and Recreation in 2010. Since then, the day has become a real-life phenomenon celebrating platonic love and sisterhood. According to the ARA, 12 per cent of those buying Valentine’s gifts this year will be purchasing for someone other than their romantic partner.
Cindy Le, 25, celebrated Galentine’s Day this year with a backyard lunch with her girlfriends. The friends all dressed in shades of pink; the table was adorned with bouquets, customised menus and bottles of moscato wrapped in ribbon. There were even heart-shaped goodie bags.
Cindy Le’s planned a celebration for friends before Valentine’s Day.
“I love my girlfriends. It was just a good excuse for us to see each other, hang out and make some really good, cool memories,” says Le.
Going all out and being “extra” is Le and her friends’ forte. No strangers to the DIY scene, the group has always paid attention to aesthetics.
And on TikTok and Instagram, the aesthetics of Galentine’s Day are obvious: red and pink decor, the comeback of vintage pastel cakes, and, of course, flowers. For Le, the cost-of-living pressures still impacted the day’s festivities.
“I initially wanted to get every one of the girls roses, but they’re expensive at the moment,” she says.
When asked about her plans for Valentine’s with her partner, Le isn’t too fussed. She says her ideal Valentine’s Day would be to stay home and watch a movie, grab some popcorn or – if she’s feeling fancy – make a charcuterie board.
“[Valentine’s Day] kind of gets a bad rap, sometimes. People think you shouldn’t just need one particular day to make your partner feel special,” she says. “It should be every day, which I believe.”
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