By Artem Korsakov ·
In short: A catalog suits you if a manager confirms the composition, flower substitutions and time anyway. An online shop is needed when the buyer can find out the composition, the full total and the delivery method themselves and pay without back-and-forth messaging. There is also an intermediate option: the cart sends the order for confirmation without instant payment.
Building an online flower shop starts with choosing a scenario: request confirmation from a manager or place an order on clear terms. In a catalog, a person chooses an option they like and sends a request. In a shop, they expect to place an order on clear terms. An intermediate option is also possible, but the boundaries of confirmation must be visible before payment.
When a catalog does the job
A catalog suits you if an employee checks the composition, agrees on flower substitutions and clarifies the time. Product cards help people get to know the range, and the request keeps the selected option and the buyer’s wishes. On the page and after submission you need to explain that the shop will get in touch to confirm.
This is not necessarily a temporary or weak solution. For custom arrangements, manual agreement can be part of the service. What matters is cutting unnecessary repetition: the buyer should not have to send a photo of a bouquet they have already chosen on the website.
A catalog becomes inconvenient if most inquiries differ only in the delivery address and a manager repeats the same terms every time. Then it makes sense to check which steps can be moved to self-service checkout.
What a full online shop requires
You need rules that make it possible to calculate and accept an order. For a bouquet these are:
- available options and sizes;
- the price;
- permitted add-ons;
- the delivery method and timing.
For delivery, the service area, the price and time restrictions are added. Which data is needed at checkout is covered in the article “Flower delivery checkout”.
Staff need to understand which event counts as confirmation. It may be a successful payment with verified availability, or a separate agreement. If payment is accepted before the composition is checked, the further steps should be defined in advance so that different managers do not each decide in their own way.
Self-service checkout does not rule out communication. It moves standard questions into the interface and leaves the exceptions to staff. If exceptions make up almost every order, it is better to first bring order to the range and processes, and only then make the website more complex.
Compare using a hypothetical order
Imagine a buyer who chooses a bouquet of a certain size for the evening. In the catalog, they send a request with the product and their contact details. A manager checks availability, agrees on the address, works out delivery and tells them how to pay. The value of the catalog here lies in a clear choice and passing on the context.
In the shop, the buyer chooses the size, sees the available time slots and the full total, enters the recipient and pays. The shop receives a structured order and must fulfil it according to the stated rules. This requires up-to-date information and consistent work by staff.
If in both options a manager then manually recalculates the price and changes the time, the shop’s advantage shrinks. It is more useful to first find out the reason for the recalculations: an unstable range, undescribed zones or unconfirmed timing.
Can you start with an intermediate solution
Yes. For example, the cart collects products and delivery details, but instead of instant payment it sends a request for confirmation. The buyer sees the preliminary composition, and an employee checks it and gets in touch. This is a complete scenario as long as the labels do not present the request as a final order.
Another option: self-service checkout only for a ready-made line of bouquets, and custom arrangements via request. It is better to separate them with clear terms inside the catalog, not with two identical-looking buttons with different results.
How to decide before ordering a website
Take several typical sales and write down the manual clarifications. Separate permanent rules from individual wishes. Look at which data is already in the catalog, who checks availability and how quickly information is updated.
Then define the minimal self-service path. If the buyer can reliably find out the composition, total and delivery method, an online shop is justified. If the key terms are still decided by an employee, a catalog with confirmation lets you start work honestly.
In the estimate, ask for the cost of the initial content, delivery, payment and the connection to inventory to be shown separately. The name of the platform alone does not answer these questions. For discussion you can use the prototype of the trike_dev flower solution: it shows a scenario that is then adapted to the rules of a specific shop.
Частые вопросы ### Do you need a customer account right away?
For a one-off order it may be an unnecessary obstacle. Repeat ordering is worth adding if there is a clear benefit: saved recipients, order history or easy reordering of available items. This is a separate decision that should be tested on a real scenario.
Can you start with an intermediate solution?
Yes. The cart collects products and delivery details, but instead of instant payment it sends a request for confirmation. It is important that the labels do not present such a request as a final order.