Venus et Fleur, established in 2015, is a luxury floral brand renowned for their Eternity® flowers—real flowers that maintain their freshness and elegance for over a year. What began as a solution to disappointing Valentine’s Day flowers has evolved into a sophisticated retail operation powered by a single, unified commerce platform.
“Integrating all of our sales channels within a single platform allows us to deliver a personalized, cohesive experience at every touchpoint, reflecting the seamless luxury that our customers expect from Venus et Fleur," says Brendan Gorman, Head of Ecommerce at Venus et Fleur. "With Shopify's unified ecosystem, we can manage ecommerce, retail, and social commerce data in one place, giving us a holistic view of our customer journey."
The brand’s unified commerce approach with Shopify has delivered impressive results:
- Between 10-15% year-over-year increase in ecommerce average order value (AOV) over past three years
- 15% higher average order value (AOV) from Shop App customers compared to those purchasing through website
- 12% reduction in abandoned checkouts with addition of custom checkout calendar
- Improved customer loyalty and lifetime values due to ability to provide personalized product recommendations in-store
- Increasing AOV in-store through enhanced cross-sell and upsell opportunities enabled by access to real-time inventory data
The Challenge: Unifying the customer experience across channels
As Venus et Fleur expanded from ecommerce to physical retail, they faced new levels of complexity in managing multiple sales channels. "Our biggest challenge was ensuring a seamless, unified experience across both our digital and physical sales channels," says Brendan. "Managing inventory across ecommerce and retail locations was initially complex, especially during peak seasons where demand surges for our Eternity® flowers.”
Another critical challenge the brand faced was creating unified customer profiles that could capture interactions and preferences across online and in-store experiences. “We needed to be able to maintain a holistic view of our customers’ journeys,” says Brendan.
Venus et Fleur needed more than just connected systems; they required a unified platform that could handle sophisticated product configurations, personalization options, and precise delivery date requirements while maintaining real-time inventory accuracy during high-volume seasonal surges. Their success in premium gifting demanded a solution that could support both operational complexity and deliver the elevated, personalized experience consistent with their luxury brand ethos.
Without a holistic view of our customers’ journeys, we knew it would be very difficult to tailor recommendations, personalize communications, and reward loyalty across every sales channel.
The Solution: A single platform for seamless commerce
To overcome their challenges, Venus et Fleur leveraged Shopify's unified platform to create a truly integrated retail operation. "With Shopify, we can manage ecommerce, retail, and social commerce data in one place, providing the comprehensive view and control over the business that we need," says Brendan. The brand used Shopify’s ecommerce tools to complete a website rebrand with a custom theme, elevating both visual appeal and site performance. They next implemented several custom features aligned with their commitment to meaningful and elegant gifting.
Through Shopify, the brand offers personalized greeting card messages and specific calendar date selection for deliveries on their website. “Timing is crucial for our customers—whether it’s for an anniversary, birthday, or holiday—this functionality ensures we meet their expectations,” says Brendan. The brand is now extending this capability to their in-store experience, building a custom calendar as a POS UI extension that will be integrated into the order flow. This will be in addition to the sophisticated promotional capabilities they’ve already enabled with Shopify POS, including gift-with-purchase offers and complimentary shipping options for in-store purchases. “Shopify allows us to manage these unique requirements in-store without compromising efficiency or user experience,” Brendan adds.
Integrating Shopify POS into Venus et Fleur’s existing commerce infrastructure proved remarkably efficient. "The intuitive setup process enables us to have the system operational within a day, ensuring our staff can quickly adapt and provide a consistent, high-quality experience to our customers," says Brendan. This rapid deployment capability has been particularly valuable as the brand expands their retail presence, minimizing downtime and maintaining consistent operational continuity.
Integrating Shopify POS into our existing commerce infrastructure, including our OMS and ERP system, was a seamless process. Shopify's robust API and extensive documentation facilitated smooth connections, allowing us to synchronize inventory, orders, and customer data across all platforms efficiently.
The Results: Growth blossoms across every channel
With a seamlessly integrated commerce infrastructure, Venus et Fleur has seen significant improvements across all aspects of their business. "Having our channels synchronized through Shopify allows us to implement consistent marketing and engagement strategies, whether through online campaigns, in-store events, or social media outreach," says Brendan. "It also empowers our retail teams to provide excellent customer service, as they have access to real-time information on orders, preferences, and past interactions across all channels."
The brand has leveraged Shopify's Shop App as an additional sales channel, and it’s proven to be a powerful customer acquisition tool. "Through targeted campaigns on the Shop App, we're able to connect with a wider audience while only paying for the customers who complete a purchase, making it a highly efficient channel for driving growth," says Brendan. “We’ve noticed that customers acquired through the Shop App tend to have a 15% higher average order value than those purchasing directly through our website, indicating the channel attracts customers who are both brand-aligned and eager to engage with our offerings at a premium level.”
Overhauling their online store also proved highly successful. “Since the rebranding of our website, we’ve experienced a steady increase in average order value of 10-15% per year each of the past three years,” says Brendan. Enhancing the online checkout experience has been impactful as well. “We implemented a custom checkout calendar that allows customers to select specific delivery dates,” he says. “This feature has reduced abandoned checkouts and increased the likelihood of purchase by over 12%.”
On the retail front, the brand has seen equally strong results. “Since integrating Shopify POS, we’ve seen notable growth across several key metrics,” says Brendan. With centralized customer data at their fingertips, the team is growing customer loyalty and lifetime values by personalizing their interactions with each customer. “Shopify POS has helped us boost average order values in-store, where our staff can access real-time inventory data to cross-sell and upsell effectively,” says Brendan. “Showcasing complementary products and offering thoughtful suggestions based on customer preferences has also led to a measurable increase in items per order.”
Shopify POS has not only contributed to sales growth but also enhanced our ability to build long-term customer relationships, fueling repeat purchases and increasing the impact of our physical retail presence.
Looking ahead
Venus et Fleur plans to expand their retail presence in the coming year, including the implementation of Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store (BOPIS) capabilities. "We anticipate that this feature will further support growth in unified commerce, providing greater flexibility and convenience for our customers," says Brendan. With a robust unified commerce foundation from Shopify in place, Venus et Fleur is well-positioned to continue revolutionizing the luxury floral industry and delighting more customers around the world.
Shopify has streamlined our operations by enabling us to manage all of our sales channels in one place. The platform’s ecosystem of tools has been key in helping us maintain the quality, consistency, and personalization that define Venus et Fleur’s approach, ensuring that we can continue to scale while fulfilling our vision as a luxury omnichannel retailer.
