Buying Valentine’s Day roses online? Give M&S a miss…
ExpENSIvE bouquets of valentine’s Day roses bought online may disappoint love-struck shoppers, experts have warned.
Flowers ordered from websites were found to droop and die within days of being delivered, according to research by consumer group Which?
It found that paying a steep price for roses is no guarantee they will last until the end of the week.
The group ordered red roses from seven leading online retailers, who will be selling millions of the flowers ahead of valentine’s Day next Wednesday.
Experts from Which? Gardening Magazine judged the roses on whether they looked like sellers’ promotional images, as well as their value, ease of delivery, and how good the retailers’ websites were.
Which? said: ‘The worst bouquet according to our expert came from Marks & Spencer Flower Shop. By the end of the week the initially perky Classic Roses Hot Mix was looking very sad ... They also arrived damaged. Notably the flowers arrived an hour later than the delivery texts and emails had promised.’ The M&S flowers were also the second-most expensive involved in the survey at £35.
Second from bottom was the £38 Scarlet Rose hand-tied bouquet from Interflora, while third from bottom was the Morrisons ‘The Best’ Red Rose Sweetheart Bouquet, which was also £38.
Of the Interflora flowers, Which? said: ‘Our expert said most people would have thrown them away before the end of the week.’
The best bouquet came from Moonpig with a dozen red roses coming in at £28 with free delivery. ‘The roses were big and still fresh after a week indoors,’ according to the consumer group.
Second place went to eFlorist and its £33.98 ‘The Devoted’ bouquet. ‘The roses were still an attractive vibrant red after a week. This simple bouquet looked great,’ the experts said. In third and fourth place were offerings from Flying Flowers and Bloom & Wild, at £24.99 and £30 respectively.
Alex Neill, director of home products and services at Which?, said: ‘There are some high-quality rose bouquets available online that are likely to keep your secret crush smiling for a week or more, but sadly some could leave you broken-hearted.
‘Don’t forget that flowers bought online are covered by the Consumer Rights Act, so if they don’t live up to expectations you can ask for a refund.’