Britain's florists are preparing for one of the busiest times of year. To celebrate Valentine's Day, a staggering £262 million is spent on flowers for loved ones.It's important to look for the perfect gift for the big day and saying it with flowers is something that 75% of British men will be doing on 14th February.Symbolising love, romance and passion, red roses are the most popular Valentine’s flower - around 43% of the flowers sold are red roses, usually in bunches of 12 cut stems.This means that 57% of customers are looking for something different - other Valentine's Day contenders include anemones, camellia, freesia, lilies, daisies, tulips and carnations, to name but a few.© asife / Adobe Stock Booming industryThe cut flower industry in the UK is worth around £2 billion annually. Special occasions such as Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Christmas are the main times when thousands of orders are guaranteed.For the florists vying for supremacy, it's a case of buying in additional items that can complement the flowers. This makes it convenient for customers to buy the perfect flowers and also another gift, all under one roof - such as a decorative vase, a box of chocolates, a teddy or a silk heart.High-street florists have diversified their range of products to keep pace with the times and fend off stiff competition from online retailers. History of floristryThe earliest records of flower-arranging as an art date back to the Ancient Egyptians in 2,500 BC. They would place cut flowers in vases and create highly stylised arrangements as table decorations and for occasions such as processions.Illustrations of intricate Ancient Egyptian flower arrangements have been found painted on walls and carved in stone.During the Ancient Greek period, dating from 600 BC to 150 BC, floristry provided decorations for the home and even for clothing, with herbs added to further enhance the displays.Floristry became popular in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, the delicate arrangements contrasting with the symmetrical Baroque architecture of France, which was the first European country to embrace floral exhibits from around 1610.In the United States, during the colonial era, flowers and herbs were first grown for medicinal purposes and floral decorations in the home were simple. In the UK, floral arrangements grew in popularity during the Victorian era, when they became more lavish.Roses became popular, as did dahlias, tulips, lilies and fuchsias. This was the first era when floristry began to develop as an industry and particular styles of flower arranging started to take shape. Window displaysToday, florists offer many services and they can even make sure your Valentine's gift is personalised for that special someone. Retailers will use flowers to promote their window displays, especially near Valentine’s day.Floral displays create a huge visual appeal and those with stunning window displays, close to a main shopping area, will be assured of brisk business.Many new floristry businesses begin on a market stall, or in small premises close to a main transport link, such as a busy commuter line, or a bus station. This gives them a steady flow of passing trade and it means they can build up their business and income over time, before investing in larger premises. Shift to "buy British"This Valentine's Day, an estimated 90% of the cut flowers will be imported from overseas, according to surveys. This is because the winter's weather in the UK isn't conducive to producing the volume of flowers that will be required to cope with the demand.However, there's a growing trend among British florists to buy more local blooms. Organisations such as The British Flower Collective and Flowers From the Farm are helping to coordinate the efforts to buy British.They say the advantage is that local flowers stay fresher for longer, as the transportation time is reduced. International flowers can take more than a week to arrive after being cut. Popular Valentine's flowersThe average price of a bunch of 12 red roses this Valentine's Day will be around £32 and an additional 250 million extra roses will be grown just for the special day.Of the roses bought by men for their loved one, 43% will be red. Other colours are also popular, with pink roses symbolising grace, yellow roses meaning friendship and white roses suggesting beauty and innocence.Red tulips represent true love, while pink carnations are sent to someone you'll never forget, and lavender signifies devotion.Research has shown that a massive 95% of customers will be more likely to go into a shop if it has an attractive exterior, so it's important that florists get their Valentine's window display on point. If the exterior looks uninviting, 52% of customers say they would be less likely to cross the threshold.Ensure your premises look their best by contacting Commercial Aluminium Shopfronts (CAS) and enquiring about our specialist services. We represent expertise, high quality, value for money and excellent customer service and after-sales care.For retail premises that stand out from the crowd, contact our friendly and knowledgeable advisors for further details of our range of products and services.

The latest innovation to enhance the high street is technical window displays. As technology gets increasingly advanced, just about anything is possible - and today's digital displays are integrated so seamlessly into our everyday lives that we possibly don't even realise how many there are.When we're out shopping, digital signage solutions can attract and charm us. They're not just a flashy marketing tool. They can improve the overall customer experience and when used as part of a window display, they will attract passers-by into your store, who may otherwise have simply walked past.© Monkey Business / Adobe StockSavvy retailers are incorporating the latest digital technology into their marketing techniques. Whereas a shop window display in years gone by was often colourful and attention-grabbing, ultimately it was static.Today, interactive displays can further enhance the customers' opinion of the store and interest them before they even step through the door. Striking window displays offer some serious benefits for retailers. Total experiencePeople love interacting with things. Whereas a static window display might catch our eye, we enjoy the total experience of seeing and touching something interesting. It's more likely to draw us in.The difference between an interactive and a static window is like watching a live band busking in the street, compared with reading a poster on a bus shelter about their forthcoming gig. We'll be automatically drawn to something interactive, while we might easily walk past the poster, especially if we're in a rush.This typical human behaviour is the main reason why interactive displays are so valuable for high street stores. They have the "wow" effect that makes us want to go in and experience more. Engaging and funAn interactive retail display has a big impact on customer engagement, creating loyalty and confidence towards the brand. Any type of interaction with a brand makes the customer more likely to remember the store and the brand in future.In addition, interaction provides more fun and entertainment. Trying out an interactive display is something we'll enjoy doing. Increasing the entertainment aspect of shopping is a bonus for retailers, because shopping is supposed to be fun, rather than a chore.Customers will want to try out these new tools that are putting the fun back into the high street. A prime example of this is Nike's interactive window displays at Selfridges in London.These included one window where customers walking past outside were invited to stand on a marked spot on the pavement and jump as high as they could. The height of their jump was measured electronically and displayed as part of the window display. They could even see the resulting photo of their jump in a gallery in the shop window!The Dutch creative agency, Staat, had designed and created eight interactive window displays for Nike at Selfridges. The windows were on display during the 2012 London Olympics, with each window display interacting with passers-by in a different way. The technology creating the interactivity was provided by Kinect. EducationalAs well as being fun, technical window displays are educational. Retailers are continually searching for ways to let customers know about their products without being intrusive. The integration of touch screens and videos can attract customers' attention, letting them know about a product's features and benefits.The display can demonstrate a product and point customers towards a sale. This can be a more successful method of imparting information to customers, rather than having a salesperson approach and try to enter into a discussion.Consumers would generally rather be in control of when and how they get the information - many don't like being forced into a conversation. They would rather see an interactive window display at their leisure. FlexibilityThe beauty of technical window displays is that they are flexible. The retailer can change them as often as they choose. They can test the content and find out what attracts people the most - this is made possible by a content management system.Digital menu boards are everywhere today, from fast food stores to petrol stations. They give retailers the option of changing the information as many times in the day as they like, within seconds. The way in which the menu boards are constantly changing give consumers the feeling that all of the items on sale are fresh and new. Target audienceTechnical window displays can be geared up to a business's target audience. For example, a car showroom can give customers the drive of their life, as high-quality driving sequences can be projected showing the various vehicles in action. This enables potential customers to visualise themselves in the driving seat.Travel agents can transport potential customers to exotic shores and their dream destination and make dreams a reality by using a technical window display. Window shoppers can take a look at the bargain holidays on offer, while taking virtual tours of the hotels or leisure attractions.High street stores can also use their interactive window display to advertise their business partners' complementary services. This provides the potential for the service to become self-financing.Thanks to today's new tech, the possibilities for window displays are endless and in the current competitive retail environment, retailers need to ensure they have an edge over competitors by having the best window displays on the high street.Commercial Aluminium Shopfronts supplies and installs modern high-quality shopfront windows to give your premises a head start. Please contact us for further information - we look forward to hearing from you!

Christmas window displays are sparkling away all over Britain, on high streets, in shopping centres and in the windows of smaller retailers away from the city centre. Everyone realises the value of an alluring festive window to draw the customers in at the busiest time of the year.The aim is to attract potential customers, who may not normally come in. If the Christmas window display is striking enough to stop passers-by in their tracks, they may wander in for a look, instead of continuing on their way.Today, it's commonplace for just about every shop with a large enough window to display their wares to the best of their ability, but how did the now-common practice of window displays begin? First window displaysThe tradition dates back to the 18th century, although at the time, it was only the larger stores in the cities who dressed their windows.Until this point, the practice had been for shopkeepers to stand in their doorway, actively trying to lure customers in with some self-promotion, while their goods were often stacked up in the window area, in no particular order.Then, the idea of seasonal window displays began to catch on among savvy shopkeepers in the late 18th century. In London, where the competition was fierce among retail stores even by the 1780s, those with more spacious windows often changed their displays to keep them looking fresh.A letter written by a visitor to London in 1786 described how the practice of displaying silk, muslin and chintz fabrics for women's garments in shop windows was a "cunning device". The window displays enabled customers to see how each material would look when hanging in the folds of a woman's dress, spurring them into buying it.The letter was quoted by early 20th century social historian Alison Adburgham, the one-time fashion editor of The Guardian newspaper, as evidence that some retailers were aware of more sophisticated marketing techniques more than 200 years ago. Department storesBy the 19th century, when the main streets had gas lights and there were more small stores with glass windows, an increasing number of traders had seasonal window displays. With many storeys and large plate glass windows, the department store first arrived in the 1850s.This heralded a new era for window displays, with fashion goods in particular displayed in room settings on shop window dummies, known as mannequins, for optimum visual impact.Window displays were exhibiting goods in context and settings, with fixtures, stands and accessories, as well as the mannequins. This led to scope for better seasonal and Christmas displays, with the mannequins in festive surroundings.The widely-held belief is that the world's first major Christmas window display was exhibited by Macy’s store in New York in 1874. It featured scenes from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s famous novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, inhabited by a collection of porcelain dolls in costumes from all over the world.The owner of the legendary department store, RH Macy, saw it as an opportunity to bring more Christmas spirit to his premises. In the late 19th century, Macy's Christmas window displays became legendary and a visitor attraction in their own right.People would travel to New York from far and wide to see the spectacular festive windows and this became a hugely valuable marketing tactic.Other retailers soon followed suit and by the early 20th century, competition for grabbing the attention of shoppers was increasingly intense. The trend was prevalent across America, in particular in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago - home of the majority of major department stores at that time. Leading UK displaysIn the UK, department stores also joined the growing trend for dressing up their windows with Christmas displays.Selfridges, the Oxford Street department store that was launched in March 1909 by American entrepreneur Harry Selfridge, not only had festive window displays, it was also the first luxury retailer to have a Christmas display that filled almost a whole floor inside the store.During the 20th century, the trend for creating sparkling Christmas windows grew, until it was unusual for a retailer not to have a festive display.In today's competitive retail climate, when the digital age means internet shopping is rivalling the high street, it's even more important for shopfronts to look as inviting as possible, especially at the busiest time of year.The need for retailers to come up with unique window displays, especially around the Christmas period, is crucial. An estimated 70% of shoppers enjoy physically experiencing products and interacting with staff face-to-face before making a purchase, so luring them into the store is massively important.In the same way that annual iconic Christmas adverts on TV can affect retailer's success, Christmas window displays are also at the heart of their high street presence. A recent study by Lord and Taylor, a historic American department store in Fifth Avenue, New York, estimated that 500,000 people passed by its windows daily.Even if you entice only a small percentage of customers into the shop at Christmas, this will significantly increase footfall - so an attractive window display is paramount.Commercial Aluminium Shopfronts (CAS) will supply and install high-quality shopfront windows to your retail premises to add a fresh and inviting feel. Please contact us for details of our products and services – we look forward to hearing from you!The Commercial Aluminium Shopfronts team would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!