Global & U.S. Data
Worldwide Floral Industry By the Numbers
Where the numbers come from, what they measure, and what they add up to for the flower shop. The figures below come from USDA, BLS, Grand View Research, IBISWorld and industry reports, each shown with its source.
$39B
Global cut flower market, 2024
Grand View Research / GM Insights
4.9%
Global CAGR through 2030
Grand View Research 2024
$53B
Projected market value by 2032
Astute Analytica 2024
46%
Of global exports from the Netherlands
Astute Analytica / ITC 2022
$50B+
Flowers produced annually worldwide
Astute Analytica 2023
Global Market
The World Cut Flower Market
Past & Projected
The global cut flower market has grown steadily despite economic disruptions — and is forecast to reach over $53 billion by 2032. Europe leads consumption with a 35% share, followed by North America at 30% and Asia-Pacific as the fastest-growing region.
U.S. Market Focus
-56%
Retail florist shops lost since 1992
Nearly 27,000 in 1992 to fewer than 12,000 today · Living Flowers, 2025
$6.7B
U.S. floriculture market value, 2023
Grand View Research / USDA
+11.8%
Annual growth of online flower merchants
IBISWorld / Petal Republic, 2014–2019
80%
Of U.S. cut flowers are imported
USDA / Florist Software Statistics
Florist Shop Closures
A 30-Year Decline in Retail Florists
The number of independent retail flower shops in the United States has fallen by more than half since 1992 — from nearly 27,000 storefronts to fewer than 12,000 today. The pace of closures has accelerated in the last decade as supermarkets and e-commerce captured market share.
Market Size & Growth
U.S. Floriculture Market Value
Despite shop closures, the overall U.S. floriculture market has grown — demand is strong, but it's shifting channels. The market is projected to grow at 8% CAGR through 2030.
Consumer Spending
Where Consumers Buy Their Flowers
Supermarkets and mass retail now dominate cut flower sales at point of purchase, squeezing independent florists on price and convenience. Florist shops retain strength in weddings, events and bespoke arrangements — but the everyday purchase has largely moved.
Wholesaler Consolidation
Mergers & Acquisitions Reshaping the Middle
The middle of this industry has been consolidating. Here are the deals, with dates. Fewer and larger companies now sit between the grower and the shop.
Merger
2023
From You Flowers + FTD
May 2023. The two companies merged into one platform. FTD said the merger would nearly double the orders flowing into its florist network, which spans more than 125 countries.
Acquisition
2023
1-800-Flowers acquires SmartGift
1-800-Flowers acquired SmartGift, a personalised gifting platform, expanding its corporate and digital gifting business.
Acquisition
2023
Lovingly acquires Charlotte Flower Market
Lovingly, an e-commerce platform for retail florists, acquired Flowers of Charlotte and its wholesale operation, putting retail technology and wholesale supply under one owner.
Acquisition
2024
Costa Farms acquires Battlefield Farms
Costa Farms, one of the largest U.S. plant growers at about 5,200 acres, acquired Battlefield Farms, a Virginia grower of more than 700 bedding varieties.
Partnership
2022
Royal Van Zanten + The Queen's Flowers
Breeder Royal Van Zanten and grower The Queen’s Flowers partnered to develop proprietary varieties such as Astronova — one example of breeders and growers tying up directly.
Sources: Arizton Market Research; Grand View Research; company press releases 2022–2024
Industry Leaders
Estimated Annual Revenue Top Floral Companies
Four companies dominate U.S. online floral commerce. Together they have reshaped how flowers are ordered, delivered, and priced — largely outside the independent flower shop.
Employment Outlook
Floral Designer Jobs Projected to Fall
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 6% decline in floral designer employment between 2025 and 2035 — about 2,500 of the 45,200 jobs. Job losses are concentrated in independent flower shops; growth is only seen in grocery retail. This reflects structural change, not a lack of demand.
What the Numbers Tell Us
A loss in floral designers is not just a jobs statistic.
It is a warning for the entire industry.
When floral designers disappear, so does the knowledge base of the industry. The craft. The training pipeline. The qualified help that allows a flower shop to operate professionally — and profitably. A florist cannot open a second location without a qualified manager. A qualified manager does not appear without a floral school. A floral school does not thrive without students who believe there is a future in the profession. The decline in floral designers is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of a chain reaction that the entire industry needs to take seriously.
Floral Designers Employed in the U.S.
The number of floral designers working in the United States (BLS, 2025). Fewer designers means fewer students entering training programmes, and floral education shrinks when the profession loses visibility.
Jobs Projected to Go by 2035
A 6% decline (BLS). Without skilled staff a florist cannot delegate, and without delegation a florist cannot grow. A single owner cannot open a second location without someone qualified to run the first.
Median Floral Designer Pay
Median pay in May 2025 (BLS). A florist with qualified help, customers who know what they are buying, and a mark on the door that tells them this is a real flower shop can grow. That is what I Speak Flowers™ is for.
"The cut flower market is growing. The flower shop is shrinking. The floral designer is disappearing. Those three facts, read together, are why florists need a mark of their own — and why it has to be written by florists."
You Have Seen the Numbers
Now Be Part of the Solution
The statistics on this page are not abstract. They are the flower shop on your street. They are your staff. They are your customers. Here is what florists can do about them.
- © 2026 World Cut Flower Commission. All rights reserved.