How rate rises have killed romance
Romance may be the latest victim of the rising cost of living.
“People are only spending on flowers for memorial services or to mark anniversaries – the ‘thank you’ or ‘I love you’ flowers are out,” says florist Jane Marx, whose daily sales at her Beautiful Bunch store in Fitzroy North have plunged 28 per cent.
Melbourne florist Jane Marx says that while her business, Beautiful Bunch, is resilient a drop in discretionary spending means she won’t be able to expand as planned. Eamon Gallagher
An even dozen interest rate rises in the past 14 months have put the tighteners on household spending, with non-essentials such as flowers among the first things to go.
The Reserve Bank held the benchmark cash rate steady at its latest board meeting on Tuesday, but signalled it was likely just a pause in rate rises as it considers whether the increases have cut into spending enough to tame inflation.
Big banks warned this week that their payments data had revealed rate rises were crimping consumer spending faster than official retail figures show, and florists are among the hardest hit.
“Spending is down hugely. I’m certainly feeling the pressure… it is a stressful time,” Ms Marx told The Australian Financial Review. Her most common order used to be a $70 seasonal bunch, but now it’s a $45 posy as people spend less on each order.
Ms Marx, who has 11 employees, said conditions meant she wouldn’t be adding new staff anytime soon. She is also hoping to bolster corporate sales, which comprise about 10 per cent of revenue, compared to 70 per cent for daily consumers and 20 per cent for other small businesses such as cafes, wine bars, bookshops and bakeries.
“It is only going to get harder for those places to justify a weekly spend on
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