Between flowers and fears: the new coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the flower retail trade

Abstract

In order to support a better understanding of the current scenario of the crisis installed by the New Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2: COVID-19) in the flower retail trade, it is presented a descriptive exploratory research carried out between April and May 2020 with 30 flower shop managers located in the Southern region of Brazil. The results showed that the most significant impacts were the drop in the number of customers, which reduced the company’s income when compared to the values sold before the pandemic, and that the pandemic scenario generated a 45.3% reduction in financial transactions on average. Among the flower shops in this survey, 70% of flower shops were closed for an average of 21.4 days, when they were reopened with restrictions on attendance related to hours or the number of people inside the stores. The e-commerce and social media were the main tools to confront this situation, and the most used Apps were WhatsApp and Instagram. But other actions such as discounting on purchases by quantity, free delivery and marketing in the surrounding were also registered. Among the possible complementary actions in order to face this crisis and which can have positive effects, it is highlighted the online courses directed to the trade of gardening kits, the adoption of the Just In Time (JIT) methodology that can result in partnerships with local producers in order to reduce inventory costs and purchase prices, and the organization of collective purchasing groups to bargain prices with wholesalers, as well as the reduction of transportation and operational costs at Veiling in Holambra.