HOUSEHOLD COMPARISONS OF THE DEMAND FOR FLOWERS IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

The present paper is concerned with the monetary flower consumption in the Federal Republic and contributes the results of demand analyses. Disregarding the manifold substitutional relations among the different species and varieties, both pot-plants and cut flowers are considered one collective produce.

The study is looking for yearly and monthly consumption movements and their determination in a long termview. The demand analyses are based on time series in the period of 1965 to 73, the leastsquares method is used and the logarithmic-linear function is preferred. This equation-type has a particular suitability for a first approach, it is sufficient for the criteria of adaptibility and plausibility, renders average elasticities directly by the regression coefficients, and stands in a special geometric consensus with the concept of elasticity.

Demand elasticities derived from macroeconomic data carry small evidential weight with regard to activities concerning marketing by objectives. In order to demonstrate this, on the West German flower market, which ist the most important in Europe, demand analyses are tried for different groups of consumers. The required data have been taken from the official statistics and originate in the budgetary accounts of nearly 1000 households. Since 1965 these accounts are continuously being established for three standard types of families, not on the base of a consumer panel, but in a very similar form. A distinction is made between

• 2-person-households of social security recipients (such as annuitants and pensioners) with lower income;
• 4-person-households of employees (such as salaried emloyees and labourers) with middle income, and

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files)