The cost-plus used by most florists is a proven approach to pricing but recent developments in the field of yield/revenue management have taken things further with the realization that your costs have little to do with what the customer is willing to pay. Choosing to instead align for your prices with the value that customers place on your product unlocks more sales and higher profits.
These advances were initiated by other industries that also deal in highly perishable products and peak seasons – the travel industry. Most people want to travel during the same periods each year. The unsold airline seat, the empty hotel room... these represent spoiled inventory. The person that paid less for the flight than the maximum they were prepared to spend represents money left on the table.
It's a lot like the flower business, and these companies, with the aid of huge research budgets and input from psychologists, behavioural economists and accountants came up with new pricing models that generated greater revenues and larger profits.
They were followed by the restaurant business and eventually the discipline of yield/revenue management spread until it became the secret weapon and standard practice of almost all large successful companies.
This section links to resources designed to help florists apply these same tactics to their own pricing.