Data Sources
Flower Index Data draws from three main sources:
- TeamFloral Partner Network: Anonymized transaction data from over 1,000 independent florists across the United States, representing 20 years of flower-buying patterns.
- Consumer Surveys: Annual surveys of 5,000+ flower buyers conducted during the Valentine's season (January-February).
- Public Data: Census data, cost-of-living indexes, and well-being surveys to provide demographic context.
Generosity Score
Our headline metric—the Generosity Score—measures how willing residents of a city are to spend on flowers for loved ones. It's a composite of several factors:
What Goes Into the Generosity Score
Average spend per arrangement, frequency of flower purchases, tendency to add extras (vases, chocolates, cards), and repeat customer rate. Scores range from 0-100, with 100 being the most generous.
Score Breakdown
| Component | Weight | What It Measures |
|---|---|---|
| Average Spend | 35% | Dollar amount per transaction, adjusted for local cost of living |
| Purchase Frequency | 25% | How often residents buy flowers (not just Valentine's Day) |
| Add-On Rate | 20% | Percentage of orders that include extras like chocolates or cards |
| Repeat Rate | 20% | Percentage of customers who return within 12 months |
Romance Rankings
The Romance Ranking combines our Generosity Score with external well-being data. Cities that score high tend to have both strong flower-giving habits and high resident satisfaction.
We cross-reference our data with Gallup's Well-Being Index to identify cities where flower-giving correlates with reported happiness. This isn't causal—we can't prove flowers make people happier—but the correlation is strong enough to be interesting (r=0.89 in our latest analysis).
Geographic Coverage
Our 2026 Valentine's Day report covers 100 US cities, selected based on:
- Population (minimum 50,000 metro area)
- Data availability (at least 3 TeamFloral partner florists in the area)
- Geographic diversity (representing all major US regions)
We aim to add 25 new cities each year as our partner network grows.
Limitations
No data set is perfect. Here's what ours can't tell you:
- Online-only purchases: We primarily track brick-and-mortar florist sales. Orders through national delivery services (1-800-Flowers, FTD direct) aren't included.
- Grocery store flowers: Supermarket floral departments aren't part of our network.
- DIY arrangements: We can't track flowers bought at farmers markets or grown at home.
- Small towns: Cities under 50,000 often lack enough data for reliable scoring.
Updates
Flower Index Data is updated three times per year:
- February: Valentine's Day report (this one)
- May: Mother's Day report
- December: Holiday season report
Historical data is available upon request for academic or journalistic research.
Questions About Our Data?
We're happy to explain our methodology in more detail or discuss how to use our data in your reporting. Contact us at media@teamfloral.com.