Love is in the air as partners around the world pull out all the stops to mark Valentine's Day on Wednesday, February 14.
But there is a problem. This year, the price of flowers may double as harsh economic times pushed florists to hike prices.
The Standard has established that as lovers set out to gift their partners, flower bouquet that previously was sold at Sh500 would be priced at Sh1,000.
A spot check , ahead of the Wednesday lowers day revealed found florists busy repackaging flowers.
James Chegeh, a flower vendor at city market, popularly known for fresh flowers,said clients should not expect to get flowers at cheaper rates.
"With about Sh150 we able to buy a bunch of red rose flowers containing 20 stems but now the price has shot up to Sh500. So for us to make profit, we will be forced to increase prices," said Chegeh.
Sarah Wangare, another vendor said that prices of ribbons and wrapping papers have also gone up.
"Not only the price of flowers have gone up. Even the accessories that we use to package the flowers have gone up. This will increase the price of flowers for us to get a reasonable margin," said Wangare.
She also said that the red roses are few in the market. "This means that we shall use yellow, white and patches of red. and this is a disappointment to clients.This is not what used to happen as we could sell red roses only,"said Wangare.
On his part, Chege also lamented the low turn out of clients, blaming this on prevailing harsh economic times.
"In previous years, there has always been high number of customers trooping the market to select flowers. The situation seem different this year with less attention on flowers," stated Chegeh.
He said that this year, ladies are the biggest clients compared to previous years when men customers were the major buyers.
These are the realities this year as Kenyans join the rest of the world in marking Valentines Day.
Over the years, it has been a norm for those in love or marriage to use the day to rekindle their feelings for each other.
And this is done either through special dinners or exchange of gifts and flowers.
However, lovers ought to remember that not all that you gift someone will convey the message that the giver wanted to pass across.
This is because maybe the gift does not meet the receivers preferences, expert now say.
Emmaculate Kimanyi a psychologist, said it is important for the person who wants to gift to consider the value of the gift in terms of message, expectations, goals and outcome.
"Before gifting him or her, think about the worthiness of the gift. You can't expect to win someone's heart while the gift that you giving them leaves them with doubts," she said.
Kimanyi advised that one should know the type of the relationship they have with the other person when selecting a gift.
"The type of a gift one will love to gift his or her parents will not be the same as the gift one will give to a partner; different gifts carry different meaning," she stated.
