Selling flowers online in the UK: next-day delivery promises you can keep
What Interflora and eFlorist publish for florists, how to set a next-day cut-off you can honour, pricing a £45 bouquet line by line, the 14-day rule for perishable goods, substitution wording that holds up, and a florist shop on Orbit. Checked 9 November 2026.
This guide is for a UK florist who wants to sell flowers online and take next-day delivery orders on their own website without promising what the van or the courier cannot do. It covers the relay networks, the cut-off, the price of a bouquet, the law on perishable goods and substitutions, and a florist shop on Orbit. Disclosure: we build Orbit Commerce, so weigh the Orbit sections accordingly. Every figure and rule was checked against its source on 9 November 2026.
In short
- Interflora says it has about 900 UK florists and eFlorist more than 1,500; neither publishes what a member florist pays.
- A next-day promise is three numbers: an order-by time, a dispatch day and a transit time, plus the days you do not deliver.
- Fresh flowers have no 14-day cancellation right (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28), but they must be of satisfactory quality and arrive by an agreed date where that date is essential.
- Evri and DPD carry cut flowers at the sender’s risk; your own van covers local orders and a courier box the rest.
- On Orbit, delivery estimates with a cut-off, ship-by dates, gift cards, weekly subscriptions and reviews are on every plan from £25 a month ex VAT; the shopper’s checkout note carries the card message and any later date, and you confirm the day by hand.
Should a florist sell through Interflora, eFlorist or their own website?
Most florists do more than one. Relay networks pass orders from people who have never heard of your shop to a florist near the recipient. Interflora says it has “a dedicated network of about 900 UK florists” (Interflora, checked 9 November 2026) and its membership site offers “flexible packages to suit you and your business” with no fees or percentages published (Interflora membership, checked 9 November 2026). eFlorist says it works with “more than 1,500 independent florists” and publishes no joining terms either (eFlorist, checked 9 November 2026). The networks also set the bar shoppers measure you against: Interflora offers same-day delivery for orders placed by 3pm and nominated-day florist delivery from £7.65 (Interflora delivery information, checked 9 November 2026).
| What | A relay network | Your own website |
|---|---|---|
| Whose customer it is | The network’s; the recipient knows your name only if the card says so | Yours, with name, email, address and order history in your own records |
| What you pay | Interflora and eFlorist publish no florist fees; get the package terms in writing | A plan fee and card fees. On Orbit, Solo is £25 a month ex VAT and UK personal Visa and Mastercard cost 2% + 25p |
| The delivery promise | The network’s wording, made good by whichever member is nearest | Your cut-off, your van or courier, your words |
How do you promise next-day delivery without over-promising?
A delivery promise is three numbers: the order-by time, the dispatch day and the transit time, plus the days you do not deliver. With a 2pm cut-off, same-day dispatch and no weekend deliveries, an order at 11am on Tuesday arrives on Wednesday, one at 4pm on Tuesday arrives on Thursday, and one at 4pm on Friday arrives on Tuesday. The page has to say which before the shopper pays.
Your own van covers a radius you choose, with the bouquet made up in water that morning; a courier box reaches the rest of the country on the carrier’s terms. Evri puts flowers, plants and goods “perishable within 7 days” among the items it carries but will not compensate (Evri, checked 9 November 2026). DPD carries “cut flowers or plants shipped without liquid” without liability for loss or damage, and prohibits “flowers shipped in liquid” and “liquids of any kind exceeding 50ml” (DPD UK, checked 9 November 2026). Royal Mail publishes its own restricted items list; read it before posting, and our guide to Royal Mail or a courier compares prices and compensation.
Set the cut-off earlier than you think, and switch next-day off when it is not true. On Orbit a delivery method carries handling days to dispatch (0 means same-day), transit days, an order-by time, weekends excluded if you say so and a holiday calendar; the estimate shows at checkout and the promised dates go on the order emails (shipping and fulfilment). The guide to advanced shipping rules shows a rule on the time of day and the weekday that hides the next-day option after your 2pm cut-off and keeps it hidden from Friday afternoon until Monday morning.
The peaks are where promises break: 14 February, Mothering Sunday (the fourth Sunday in Lent: 15 March 2026 and 7 March 2027, officeholidays.com, checked 9 November 2026) and Christmas. For those weeks sell a fixed menu with a stock figure that equals what the bench can make, and move the cut-off earlier. On Orbit a product can go live at a set date and time and a sale price can carry a start and an end (products).
How much should you charge for a bouquet online?
Price from the bottom up and check it every season, because stem prices move. The table works an example for a £45 bouquet with a £6 local delivery charge, so £51 is taken; the figures are illustrative. Labour is costed at the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over from 1 April 2026 (gov.uk, checked 9 November 2026), a legal floor rather than a florist’s rate.
| What the £51 covers | Example | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Stems and foliage | £13.50 | Wholesale cost, including the stems that never sell |
| Wrap, hydration wrap or box, card, ribbon | £3.50 | Bought by the hundred |
| Making and delivering | £7.42 | 20 minutes to tie (£4.24) and 15 minutes to drive (£3.18) at £12.71 an hour |
| Van, fuel, parking | £3.00 | A share of the day’s run, or the courier’s price instead |
| Card fee | £1.27 | 2% + 25p on £51 on Orbit’s Solo plan |
| VAT, if registered | £8.50 | One sixth of £51; cut flowers are standard-rated |
| Left for rent, marketing and profit | £13.81 | 27% of the money taken; £22.31 if not VAT registered |
A £6 charge does not quite cover the 15-minute drive and the van (£3.18 and £3.00 here), which is why many florists set a minimum order for local delivery or price it by distance. Our guide to pricing handmade products works the same sum for other makers.
What does the law say about selling flowers online?
This is general information, not legal advice; a solicitor or Trading Standards can confirm your wording.
The 14-day cancellation right does not apply to fresh flowers
Regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 excludes from the 14-day right “the supply of goods which are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly” and goods “made to the consumer’s specifications or are clearly personalised” (legislation.gov.uk, checked 9 November 2026). Cut flowers are the first; a bespoke arrangement may be the second. A vase or chocolates sold alongside keep the full right (see our guide to UK returns law), you still owe the pre-contract information, and saying on the page and in the confirmation email that fresh flowers cannot be cancelled once made is both lawful and kind.
Quality, description and the named day
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 goods must be of satisfactory quality, which includes “durability” (section 9, checked 9 November 2026): a bouquet that droops in two days when the page promised a week is a quality problem. What you said about the goods before the sale is a term that cannot be changed “unless expressly agreed between the consumer and the trader” (section 11). And where delivery by an agreed date was essential, a missed delivery lets the consumer treat the contract as at an end and you must repay “without undue delay” (section 28, checked 9 November 2026): funeral flowers that arrive after the service are the clearest case.
Substitution policies that hold up
Schedule 2 of the Consumer Rights Act lists among potentially unfair terms one “enabling the trader to alter unilaterally without a valid reason any characteristics of the goods” (paragraph 13, checked 9 November 2026). So the policy needs a valid reason and limits, agreed before the sale: name the reason (seasonal availability), promise equal or greater value, keep the colours and style, say the container may change, and offer to call before any larger change. Put it on the product page and in the confirmation email.
VAT
Cut flowers “bought for their ornamental effect” are generally standard-rated, as are ornamental pot plants and flower seeds and bulbs (VAT Notice 701/38, last updated 22 September 2021, checked 9 November 2026). Registration is compulsory once taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or you expect it to in the next 30 days (gov.uk, checked 9 November 2026); below that you charge no VAT.
How do you set up a florist shop on Orbit?
A florist uses Orbit’s ordinary tools in this order.
- Each design is a physical product; sizes are variants with their own price, SKU, photo and stock, and the facts a buyer wants (stem count, height, vase life) are custom fields on the page (products). Set the stock to what you can make tomorrow: it is reserved when an order is placed and released if it is cancelled, so a design cannot be oversold unless you allow backorders.
- Two shipping classes, fresh flowers and gifts, each with its own cost per delivery method, so a bouquet goes on your van or your courier’s next-day service while a vase bought alone goes by parcel, and a mixed basket becomes two deliveries.
- Zones for your van, a method for your courier. Rules can look at the delivery city, county or postcode, the weekday and the time of day, so “Local hand delivery, £6” is offered only where the van goes and before the cut-off.
- Ship-by dates. Every order is stamped with the date it must leave by, and the Orders list has a Ship by column that flags Late and Due today (orders).
- The card message and the date. The shopper leaves a note at checkout for the card message, a safe place or a later date, and you honour it by hand, with the cut-off stated on the product page and in the announcement bar across every page.
- Gift cards and a weekly bunch. A gift card is a product whose amounts are variants, emailed with the buyer’s message when payment succeeds (gift cards). A subscription runs weekly to yearly or every two weeks; each renewal charges the saved card and creates an order that carries its delivery, and customers pause, cancel or change the quantity from their account when you allow it (subscriptions).
- Reviews, approved by you. Product Reviews is a free plugin: one to five stars, guests can review, and every review waits as Pending until you approve it. The Google Reviews element, a paid add-on from the plugin store, shows up to five reviews from your Google Business Profile, refreshed nightly (reviews).
Weddings, funerals and events: enquiries first, then a payment link
Nobody puts a wedding in a basket. Weddings, corporate contracts and events start with a conversation, so on Orbit they are enquiries through a Form Builder form from the plugin store, with file uploads and email notifications. When the brief is agreed, build the order by hand with a custom line, save it as a draft, then copy a payment link that works for 7 days, email a payment-due invoice, or mark it paid when the bank transfer lands.
A deposit you agree is its own draft order sent as a payment link, and the balance a second order (orders). Funeral flowers are the exception where speed beats a quote: a sympathy collection with a clear cut-off and the card message in the checkout note handles most of them. Our wedding venue post shows the same pattern from the venue’s side, and selling services online covers the rules when you sell your time.
How does a florist get found for “florist near me”?
Most flower searches are local and in a hurry. Google says local results rest mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, that there is “no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google”, and that a complete, verified Business Profile with accurate hours, replies to reviews and photos is what helps (Google Business Profile help, checked 9 November 2026). The website’s part is a page per occasion and per area you deliver to, with the delivery promise and the price on it and the same hours and phone number as the profile. Orbit writes the sitemap, the canonical addresses and the product structured data for you; you write the titles and descriptions (SEO; SEO that ships by default has the longer list). The blog on your own domain carries the posts people search for, such as what to write on a sympathy card.
Where Orbit fits
Orbit Commerce is a UK hosted platform, and everything in this post is on every plan: variants and custom fields, shipping classes and rules, delivery estimates and ship-by dates, draft orders with payment links, gift cards, subscriptions, the blog and the SEO basics. Solo is £25 a month, or £19 a month billed yearly, ex VAT, with one staff account; Team at £85 a month (£64 a month billed yearly) has 10 staff accounts. Every plan has a 14-day free trial with no card.
Checkout takes cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Klarna. Card payments run at one published card rate per plan with nothing added on top: UK personal Visa and Mastercard are 2% + 25p on Solo, 1.7% + 25p on Team and 1.5% + 25p on Pro (pricing, payments). The theme store lists free and premium themes by industry and style; pick one for a florist and change its colours, fonts and logo in the dashboard.
Read next: selling meat and dairy online, gift cards for a small shop and choosing a theme for your shop type.
Questions people ask about selling flowers online
Can a customer cancel an order for flowers under the 14-day rule?
Not for the flowers. Regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 excludes goods liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly and goods made to the consumer’s specifications or clearly personalised, so fresh and bespoke flowers sit outside the 14-day right (legislation.gov.uk, checked 9 November 2026). A vase or chocolates sold with them keep the full right.
Can a florist substitute flowers in an online order?
Yes, within a policy the customer agreed before buying. Schedule 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 lists as potentially unfair a term letting a trader alter the characteristics of goods unilaterally without a valid reason, so name the reason, promise equal or greater value and the same colours and style, and say when you will call first.
How does a customer ask for a delivery date on an Orbit florist website?
Checkout shows the delivery estimate worked out from your cut-off, handling and transit settings, and the shopper leaves a note at checkout for a later date, a safe place or the card message; you confirm the day by hand and dispatch to it.
Can you send flowers by courier?
At your own risk. Evri will not compensate goods perishable within 7 days, flowers and plants included, and DPD carries cut flowers shipped without liquid with no liability while prohibiting flowers shipped in liquid (both checked 9 November 2026). Royal Mail publishes its own restricted items list; read it before posting.
Which Orbit plan does a florist need?
Solo, at £25 a month or £19 a month billed yearly, ex VAT: shipping classes, delivery estimates, ship-by dates, gift cards, subscriptions, draft orders and the blog are on every plan. Team at £85 a month has 10 staff accounts. Every plan has a 14-day free trial with no card.
Build one bouquet in two sizes, set a 2pm cut-off on a local delivery method and order it yourself at 2.15pm to watch the estimate move a day. The 14-day free trial, no card required, is long enough to test the whole promise before Valentine’s.