Hi-tech auctions buttonhole market
FLOWERS: The technology for virtual flower auctions was already in place but lockdown forced a system change
We now have flower buyers from as far south as Dunedin able to
participate remotely in our Auckland auction with next-day delivery.
— Tony Hayes CEO of United Flower Growers
Millions of dollars worth of New Zealand flowers are being traded using a virtual auction platform — which has seen a surge in buyer usage since lockdown.
The digital platform was credited with supporting the resilience of the local flower industry, by providing continuity during raised alert levels and helping connect growers and retailers when attendance at physical marketplaces was not possible.
The locally designed online auction took more than three years to build and beta test.
Now it allows retail buyers to enter an auction remotely and review and purchase their flowers through live streaming cameras — a first for the New Zealand market.
Flowers auctions in New Zealand are based on a Dutch auction or ‘clock auction’ model — where the price counts down in intervals from a reserve or starting value — to a price where a buyer is willing to purchase.
Operating in this way allows auctioneers to transact a significantly greater volume than a traditional auction which starts at a lower price and bids upwards.
The United Flower
Growers auctions in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch makes up one of the largest marketplaces for flowers traded in New Zealand, with over 50 million stems and bouquets sold each year.
Buyer uptake of the virtual flower auction model has surged and now represents up to 40 per cent of flowers sold by the company.
All buyers who are new to the flower auction can only purchase from the remote auction digital platform.
Tony Hayes, CEO of United Flower Growers, said the accelerated move to a cloud auction was part of the industry’s forced adaptation in recent months.
“The virtual platform is designed to complement our existing in-house or physical auction model,” Hayes said. “We now have flower buyers from as far south as Dunedin able to participate remotely in our Auckland auction with next-day delivery.
“The technology was already developed but, until Covid-19, physical auctions were the traditional method of purchase and it had not been tested on the scale needed to accommodate all of our current customers online at one time.”
Local growers had increased access to a nationwide market for their product, while for buyers it provided access to a wider range of flowers and the ability to inspect them.
A single auction could transact over 180,000 stems, Hayes said.
Live-streaming flower auctions was not universally adopted, even by major international auctions such as those in the Netherlands.
“In Holland for example buyers see only a stock library image of the flower they are bidding on that provides no indication of the quality of the product.”
United Flower Growers planned further investment in the virtual auction technology to expand the platform., Hayes said.