NetFlorist, South Africa’s oldest and largest online florist and gifting retailer, has released data drawn from its order and message-card history spanning January to April 2026. Ryan Bacher, co-founder and managing director of NetFlorist, says the data offers a picture of how South Africans mark relationships and milestones.

The company was founded in 1999 and has since facilitated more than 10 million gifting occasions, each accompanied by a personalised message card. The most recent data set points to five patterns in customer behaviour.

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By the numbers

• 70% of NetFlorist customers are women
• 70,800+ birthday message cards accompanied orders between January and April 2026
• 1 in 3 orders qualified for same-day delivery in that period
• 1 in 5 purchases were placed after 6pm
• 5,200+ orders were placed after 11pm

Source: NetFlorist internal order and message-card data, January–April 2026.

Women make up most customers

NetFlorist’s data shows around 70% of its customers between January and April 2026 were women, a figure that runs counter to the assumption that men are the primary buyers of flowers and gifts.

“Women are often the people remembering birthdays, organising celebrations, sending sympathy gifts and making sure important moments don’t go unnoticed,” Bacher says.

Personalisation has expanded

Bacher points to a shift over the past decade in how much customers want to personalise their orders. NetFlorist has expanded its personalisation options beyond the message card to include engraved gifts, embroidered textiles and personalised ribbons.

“As consumers, we all want to own the experience,” he says. “When you personalise something, there isn’t another gift exactly like it.”

Birthdays are the largest gifting occasion

Birthdays account for the highest volume of gifting activity in the data, with more than 70,800 birthday message cards recorded between January and April 2026. Valentine’s Day remains a significant peak, and Bacher says anniversaries, congratulations, new babies, get-well wishes and sympathy messages also account for a substantial share of orders.

Same-day and late-night orders

One in three orders in the period qualified for same-day delivery. One in five purchases were placed after 6pm, and more than 5,200 orders were placed after 11pm.

Bacher attributes the late-night ordering pattern to convenience rather than procrastination. “People are busy, but they still want to show up for the people who matter to them,” he says. “Technology allows them to act on that thought, even if it’s late at night.”

Recurring themes in messages

Bacher says the personalised messages that accompany orders repeatedly reference love, gratitude, encouragement and celebration. “People aren’t simply sending flowers or chocolates,” he says. “They’re expressing appreciation, celebrating milestones, offering comfort or reminding someone they’re thinking about them.”

He describes the broader takeaway from 25 years running the company as one about human connection rather than retail. “We need community, generosity and connection, especially in a world where relationships are increasingly maintained through screens and busy schedules,” he says.