E-commerce is a multi-billion dollar industry that is consistently developing as our innovation propels, thus the user. 

Consumers are more ready to buy things that they in any case may be cynics to buy online. Although this is becoming helpful, the relationship with the retail store is lost, leaving the customer to adapt to a minimalistic way of buying things that they are new to. 

I have taken this as an opportunity to design an e-commerce platform for the florist ​to get the well disposed store shopping experience into the advanced digital world for the user.

I started off this project by investigating the florist industry. Most of the florist shop businesses are considered small size. I also discovered that these businesses are primarily retail cut flowers, floral arrangements and potted plants and they typically prepare the arrangements they sell. In the Florist industry, in-store sales are dominant and the top product purchased by consumers are flower bouquets.

In the market research phase, a variety of local Lahore florist shops were researched, to get a general sense of the local market. During the research, it was observed that the floriculture industry is lacking in charm. Florist shops are not always located within a conveniently accessible radius of work or home. Attitudes and perception of flowers as millennial gifts are mostly positive, but they are still concerned with the price and longevity of floral products. An important way to improve the purchasing power of millennials is to improve their experience with floral products. Specifically, improving the relevance, engagement and customisation of floral products for the younger generation consumers. Since users are very advanced and tech oriented, there seems to be a huge gap between the user and the market offerings. Even after so many years, the floriculture industry is still in its embryonic stage because of lack of resources and skilled persons to develop the industry up to international standards.

● A clear absence of modern marketing techniques was observed.

● Outdated experience for tech oriented individuals.

● Unsure of appearance, freshness and customer service.

● Walk-in customers take all the priority of the florists. 

● It was observed that online customisation of bouquets was zero globally.

● Catalogue variety was one and the same in every brand locally.

● It was disappointing to find out that an industry which is banking on human emotions         does not allow customisation online, rather promotes the idea of sending pre-made             bouquets to their loved ones.

Article: Floriculture in Pakistan ​​​​​​​

In order to understand the local retail stores better, I decided to visit some stores and hopefully observe and interview the retail owners, workers and, shoppers that come in.

●Convenience is one of the major purchasing barriers at Florists. 

●If the convenience is improved through online services the industry can make its way to    the top. 

●Consumers tend to use the online information when selecting the products which makes    an online presence essential.

●In order to improve the user experience, it is necessary to provide accurate pricing, and    product information (e.g pictures of the actual products, detailed descriptions, product        dimensions, etc.).

It is generally easy to order food from your local restaurant or quickly get an Uber that is a few minutes away from you. But to order a flower bouquet to be delivered as soon as possible, to make someone's day, doesn't seem to be a widely available option nowadays.