New study shows that people are falling in love with new Valentine’s Day traditions and making it ‘personal’

A new study has revealed a quiet revolution is taking place when it comes to buying flowers for a loved one. Instead of relying on the traditional cliched bouquet of red roses, a new exciting trend has emerged when it comes to picking the perfect bouquet for Valentine’s Day in 2020.

The recent customer survey created by Bloom & Wild discovered that this Valentine’s Day, a huge 50% of surveyed participants either will or would like to send a brightly coloured bouquet instead of red roses. Only 39% of people picked red roses as the bouquet of choice.

The recent customer survey, created by British flower delivery company Bloom & Wild, found that ‘personalisation’ is a growing trend amongst Valentine’s Day gift-givers. Indeed, a surprising 27% of participants surveyed are rejecting the traditional red rose in favour of other flowers that more accurately reflect the recipient’s character and taste.

Bloom & Wild delved deep into the buying habits and preferences of the nation for Valentine’s Day, asking their participants why they buy the flowers they do for the most romantic day of the year and what they’ll take into consideration this year gave some surprising insight.

The main reason given for choosing a more ‘unique’ flower bouquet is because it is perceived as being ‘more of a romantic gesture that truly shows someone they’re loved’. Perhaps it is time to explore these findings further in an effort to explain what is happening to Valentine’s gifts for 2020.

Marisa Thomas, Head of Brand at Bloom & Wild said on the results “It was really fascinating to see that 27% of participants are now choosing to match their blooms to the recipient’s personality & style. At Bloom & Wild we pride ourselves on our original range of bouquets and helping our customers find the perfect gift – we can’t wait to see how our refreshingly different Valentine’s Day bouquets such as the Nina and Anya do this year. We predict on the basis of these survey results that they could be some of our most popular Valentine’s sellers to date.”

The link between the red rose and love originally came from traditional Roman and Greek mythology. The ancient world believed that the red rose was the flower of Aphrodite and Venus, Greek and Roman goddesses of love and beauty. Christianity appropriated this idea and for centuries the red rose symbolised the Virgin Mary.

The next major development occurred at the very end of the sixteenth century. For this, we have to thank the world’s greatest writer, William Shakespeare. In ‘Romeo and Juliet’ the rose symbolised Romeo’s intense, passionate and ultimately doomed romantic love for Juliet. This association of the red rose and romantic love captured the public imagination and lasted until the end of the twentieth century. Indeed the ‘Red Rose’ became the ‘go-to’ symbol for undying love in poetry, art, film and literature.

However, in 2020, it seems that people want to add an individual twist to their Valentine’s Day flowers. Instead of relying on age-old myths about flowers and romance, they wish to give a bouquet that truly reflects their feelings for their loved one and recognises what makes them so individual and special. The Valentine’s Day bouquet has become an opportunity to demonstrate both the ‘givers’ originality and the knowledge they have of their loved one and what makes them unique and special. A thoughtful, personalised, individualised, non-standard floral bouquet and truly reveal the depth of one’s love.

Love is a very personal experience. And while red roses might be right for some, bright and beautiful bouquets are becoming so popular because they do feel much more personal to the relationship.

Another reason for this change in trend could be the progressive ideals of a relationship in 2020. Traditional ideas of romance are moving forward. Celebrating people as the individuals they are is shown through thoughtful gifts with extra-personal touches. Bright flowers also allow us to showcase a range of emotions and express our feelings more fully. Many people choose different blooms depending on the stage of their relationship or to symbolise the year they’ve had together.