Validity of flower bouquets’ price comparison websites

In the area of ​​standard, off-the-shelf products' price comparisons, websites that focus on providing this information are doing useful and effective service for the benefit of the consumers. When products' specifications are similar (ie Galaxy S5 Smartphone or a flight from London to New York) the comparison is relevant, reliable and has real benefit to the customers. This is not the case when comparing flowers bouquet. The reason is that 99% of the flower shops in Israel do not publish a quantity breakdown so customers do not know how many flowers of any kind there are in a bouquet as well as they do not know the bouquet dimensions. Therefore, the comparison of prices for flower delivery in Israel and flower bouquet based on "for illustration only" photos, is not accurate at the best and can be considered to be deceived at the worst.

In general, flower bouquets prices are set based on many and various parameters. The most important parameter is the type of flower (Rose, Gladiolus, Chrysanthemum, etc.). Each flower has a different type price. For example, roses are expensive than Chrysanthemums and a Sunflower is more expensive than Narcissus. Additional parameter is the size of the bud and the length of the stem. A Rosa Miniature, for example, which its length is 30 cm, is costing third of the price of a rose with a big bud and a length of 80 cm. Seasonality is also impacting the flowers prices as well as the demand versus supply which, sometimes, is set daily. In Valentine's Day, for example, the growers and the wholesalers are raising the prices of the red roses in dozens of percents.

Additional parameter that impacts the price of the flower bouquets is the greenery that is added to the bouquet (ie Eucalyptus branches, ferns, etc.). Also the type of the package impacts the bouquet price. The fancier packaging, the pricing is getting higher. At the end, the freshness of the flowers is also having an impact on the bouquet price. When a flower shop calculates a bouquet's price made of fresh flowers, the flower shop uses its growth profit target for setting up the price. However, if the bouquet is not been sold in two or three days, the shop will try to sell it for a discount up to 50% of its original price.

As all the flower shops and websites for flower delivery in Israel that are publishing themselves in flower price comparison sites do not provide bouquets' breakdown and dimensions details, as well as the level of the flowers freshness. Hence, it is not possible to evaluate the bouquet price and there is no basis for price comparison. In most cases, flower shops are publishing their flower bouquets price in comparison sites as a honey trap to attract customers to order flower delivery while, actually, the flower shop will prepare the bouquet based on its existing flowers 'stock, the level of flowers' freshness and quality, and based on the profit target of the shop. Moreover, since flower shops have to pay a listing fee to the price comparison site, the shops are weighted this cost and provide bouquets that are made of smaller and cheaper flowers in compare to the one they would have been provide without the additional cost that is charged by mediation sites.

In summary, a real comparison of flowers bouquets price can be done only is the flower shop is presenting a detailed specification including the exact flowers quantity, their dimension and their level of freshness. As long as these details are missing, the comparison is not reliable. Therefore, smart consumers order flower delivery Tel Aviv only from websites of flower shops in Israel that act with full transparency and disclosure.

To read the flower delivery Tel Aviv consumer report that the largest Newspaper in Israel published on Feb 13th, 2015, click here: Yedioth Ahronoth article