COVID-19 Resources and Communications

FTD Supports Florists, Takes Action to Prevent Spread of COVID-19

As we all continue to adapt our daily lives and take extreme caution to slow the spread of COVID-19, the FTD team has our florist members' health and business top of mind. We have been in regular contact with florists throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as the Society of American Florists (SAF), to help us navigate this unprecedented experience.

For your convenience, all of our resources and communications to date are shared here.

Email Communication from FTD

Mercury Messenger Florist Blog Articles

 
FTD Florist Assistance Program
 
FTD Florist Assistance Program

FTD has announced the details of our assistance program for member florists. The highlights include:

  • Both of our sites, FTD.com and ProFlowers.com, and many of our marketing partners continue to take high value orders.
  • To assist you in increasing your cash flow, we will PAY YOU for all March orders by April 15, 10 days earlier than our normal pay schedule.
  • To assist you in reducing costs, we will be CREDITING your FTD membership fee for the month of April. Members must be current to qualify.
  • To further assist, we will be CREDITING the transmission fee on all orders successfully delivered during the month of April.
  • We are also offering 20% OFF fresh flowers through April 30 to help you secure flowers at reduced costs.
  • To help you keep connected and serve your customers, we are also offering our Email Marketing Program to you at NO CHARGE through June 30 and with no commitment required beyond that timeframe.
 
Federal Relief Programs for Small Businesses
 
Federal Relief Programs for Small Businesses

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering several federal relief programs to support retailers like you during this time. There are two main programs that are available now for florists.

  • The Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Loan Advance (EIDL) can help provide working capital loans of up to $2 million at a loan rate of 3.75% for a 30-year term, and the Advance Loan is available for up to $10,000 and is a forgivable loan which can be funded within 3 days of receiving the applications.
  • The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and is available for businesses up to 500 employees. The program provides an emergency loan that will be forgiven if used to maintain payroll, interest on debt, rent or utilities through June 30, 2020.
  • A guide and checklist prepared by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for the Paycheck Protection Program is available for download here.
 
Society of American Florists
 
Society of American Florists

The Society of American Florists is our industry's leading association and the team has been working around the clock to educate, inform and lobby for the floral industry. SAF has a resource section on their website, www.safnow.org, that is full of helpful information including:

  • A COVID-19 Webinar Series with recordings of past presentations and an upcoming calendar.
  • One of the webinars is about accessing the federal aid available for small business owners with suggestions for next steps and links to important sites.
  • A State Resources section has information about how your state is handling COVID-19 issues and navigating restrictions on businesses.

Health Precautions

  • Review the steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and make sure all employees are responsibly practicing these actions.
  • The CDC also has guidance for businesses and employers that is helpful to review.
  • Delivery drivers should ring the doorbell or knock on the door, but leave the arrangement on the ground or furniture on the front porch for the recipient to take inside. No contact delivery is the best option to prevent the spread of the virus.
  • For cities and towns that have required non-essential businesses to close to walk-in business, retailers offering curbside pick-up may also be an option to take orders, providing contact is limited.

Order and Delivery Information

  • A photo of an arrangement left on a porch will be accepted as proof of delivery in place of a signature by the recipient until further notice. Photos that include the house number are a best practice, if possible. An option if the recipient is not home is to leave a door tag and re-schedule delivery.
  • Effective immediately, FTD.com and ProFlowers.com will no longer accept orders being delivered to a hospital or nursing home until further notice to prevent the spread of the virus to the most vulnerable populations and also protect healthcare workers. Both sites are continuing to take orders for non-healthcare locations and are promoting hand-crafted arrangements delivered by florists to generate orders for your business.
  • If you are not able to take orders for delivery or need to temporarily close your shop, please SUSPEND your Mercury system. By suspending your system, it will prevent orders being sent to your shop. If you are not sure how to suspend your Mercury Point of Sale or Cloud technology, review detailed instructions here. Our Mercury Technology support team is also available to assist you by calling 888.205.7225.
  • Before sending an order overseas, please reference this list of country closures.

Webinars

 

Free Social Media Images to Promote Flower Shops Locally

Click on the social media images below to enlarge and open in a new window.
Next, right-click and choose "Save As" to download the image to your computer.

 

Questions or concerns? Please email us at FTDMemberServices@ftdi.com.