COLUMBIA — Today was a bit like the Super Bowl for Kent Anderson, owner of Kent’s Floral Gallery in downtown Columbia. He’s been around long enough to know that you need a plan — and some extra help — to handle the crowds on Valentine’s Day.
“It’s nice to be able to help people and make people smile,” Anderson said. “It’s just one of those holidays that it’s just terribly, terribly busy.”
Anderson brought in part-time workers, and even some retired employees, to help out with Valentine’s Day. A lot of people wait until the last minute to buy flowers, leading to increased walk-in traffic, he said. The store also delivers, but on Friday, Anderson said he had to start turning away people who couldn’t pick up in-person orders.
“We always have people that wait till the last minute. This is one of the main holidays that that happens a lot,” Anderson said. “They’ll wait till the last minute, then they want it delivered; of course our delivery logs are full and we can’t get it all out.”
Consumers are expected to spend a record $27.5 billion on Valentine’s Day this year, according to a survey from the National Retail Federation. That’s up from $25.8 billion the year before. The most popular gift categories this year are candy, flowers and greeting cards, according to the Federation.
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This is Anderson’s 48th Valentine’s Day in the floral industry — and 27th at his store. He said a lot of people are buying expensive arrangements this year with candy and teddy bears.
Flowers are what brought River Manley and Trey Shriver to Anderson’s store on Friday. Shriver bought Manley a rose earlier in the day, but the the couple stopped by the store so Manley could get a few more.
“She likes to pick things for herself,” Shriver said, chuckling. “Sometimes she won’t trust me to actually get the right thing, but then I always pull through.”
Both said the holiday is about more than just buying things for one another.
“I don’t like the pressure that Valentine’s Day has,” Manley said. “I told him a week ago I just want to hang out with you.”
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