Selling flowers in Dubai and Pakistan: a shop guide

Running a flower shop in Dubai is different from running one in Lahore, and both are different from running one in Houston. The flowers are the same family of stems, but the calendar, the customers, the way orders arrive and the way people pay all change. This guide covers the practical side of selling flowers in the UAE and in Pakistan: pricing, order channels, peak seasons, product types and payments.

What is different about selling flowers in the UAE?

Selling flowers in the UAE means working with imported stems, prices shown with 5% VAT included, a mostly WhatsApp-driven order flow, a diverse customer base of Emiratis and expatriates, and a calendar shaped by Ramadan, Eid and Arab Mother’s Day. Delivery across a spread-out city is also a big part of the job.

Imported stems and cost control

Most flowers sold in the UAE are imported, commonly from the Netherlands, Kenya, Ecuador and Colombia, along with other growing regions. That has three practical effects:

• Costs move with freight and exchange rates, not only with the season.
• Stems arrive after a long journey, so checking quality on arrival and recording received dates matters even more.
• Lead times are longer for unusual varieties, so event quotes should include a substitution clause.

Hot weather adds another layer. Cooler capacity, air-conditioned vans and short exposure times between van and door all protect vase life.

How does UAE VAT affect flower pricing?

According to the UAE Federal Tax Authority, VAT is charged at 5%, and consumer prices are generally shown with VAT included. For a florist, that means the price on the shelf, the website and WhatsApp messages should be the final price, while VAT-registered shops still show the VAT amount on the tax invoice.

The most common mistake is quoting a price in a chat, then adding VAT at checkout. Customers in the UAE expect the quoted price to be the total. Build VAT into your selling prices from the start.

Working VAT back out of an inclusive price

To find the VAT inside an inclusive price, divide the price by 1.05 to get the pre-VAT amount and subtract it from the total. Your POS should do this automatically on every receipt.

GetFloristPOS prices for the UAE are themselves shown inclusive of 5% VAT, with the Bud plan at AED 129 a month, and the software supports tax rates and groups so your own shelf prices can be set the same way. Check registration and invoice requirements for your business with a tax adviser.

How should a florist handle WhatsApp orders?

Use WhatsApp for the conversation and your point of sale for the record. Once the customer confirms the design, price, delivery date, time slot, address and card message, create a proper order, take or record payment, and send a confirmation. Chat threads are where details get lost, so move each confirmed order out of the chat quickly.

In both the UAE and Pakistan, WhatsApp is often the main sales channel. Customers send photos of what they want, voice notes with the address and a location pin. That is convenient for them and risky for you, because the key details are scattered across dozens of messages.

A WhatsApp order routine

1. Confirm the design with a photo or a clear description and size.
2. Confirm the price, including VAT in the UAE and any delivery charge.
3. Ask for the date and time slot, and check the slot has space before confirming.
4. Get the recipient’s name, phone and location pin.
5. Get the card message in writing, and read it back if it is in a language you do not normally write.
6. Take payment by card link, bank transfer or wallet, or note cash on delivery.
7. Create the order in your POS with all of the above.
8. Send a confirmation with the order number, so every follow-up message can refer to it.

What are the peak seasons for florists in the UAE?

UAE florists typically see peaks during Ramadan gifting, around Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, on Valentine’s Day, on Arab Mother’s Day on 21 March, and during the cooler months when weddings, corporate events and national celebrations are common. Expat customers may also celebrate their home countries’ Mother’s Day dates.

Because Ramadan and Eid follow the Islamic lunar calendar, their dates move earlier each year by around eleven days in the Gregorian calendar. Plan your buying and slot capacity a year ahead using published expected dates, and adjust as they are confirmed.

Arab Mother’s Day falls on a fixed date in the middle of the spring, so it is often the busiest single day for many UAE shops outside Valentine’s Day. Treat it like a peak: set slot capacity in advance, publish cutoffs and buy to the order book.

What is different about selling flowers in Pakistan?

Selling flowers in Pakistan means working with mostly local stems such as roses and gendas (marigolds), a large share of wedding and event work, garlands and gajray alongside bouquets, WhatsApp-first ordering, and payments split across cash, bank transfer and mobile wallets. Prices are usually shown plus applicable sales tax.

Local supply

Many Pakistani florists buy from local growers and city flower markets. Pattoki, near Lahore, is widely known as a center of flower growing, and roses and marigolds from growing areas like it reach markets across the country. Local supply keeps costs lower than imported stock, but quality and price can swing sharply in peak wedding weeks when everyone is buying the same stems.

Products that go beyond bouquets

Garlands and gajray are made in volume, often to order, and priced per piece. Stage décor is a project with its own quote, deposit and setup crew.

How should Pakistani florists plan for wedding season?

Plan wedding season, roughly November to February, as a series of event bookings with deposits, itemized quotes and balance-due dates, not as walk-in sales. Each wedding may include several functions such as mehndi, barat and walima, each with its own date, venue, décor and garland count.

1. Quote each function separately with its date, venue and items.
2. Take a deposit to secure the dates, and record it against the client.
3. Count garlands and gajray by function, since quantities often change late.
4. Plan buying around peak dates, since many weddings fall on the same weekends.
5. Schedule setup crews by venue and time, with travel between venues in mind.
6. Collect the balance before the last function, not after it.

GetFloristPOS handles event orders with deposits held as advance balance on the client’s account, so a family that pays in parts for three functions has one clear record. A separate guide covers wedding deposits in detail.

How do payments work for florists in Pakistan and the UAE?

In the UAE, customers mostly pay by card, Apple Pay or cash on delivery. In Pakistan, cash, bank transfer and mobile wallets such as JazzCash and Easypaisa are common. In both markets, record every payment against its order with the method used, so the day’s totals and the bank balance can be reconciled.

In GetFloristPOS, wallets like JazzCash and Easypaisa can be set up as custom payment methods, and card payments work with your own processor. Pakistani plan prices start at Rs 3,900 a month for Bud, plus applicable sales tax.

Why do receipts in Arabic and Urdu matter?

Receipts in the customer’s language build trust and reduce disputes, especially for event deposits and large orders. In the UAE, an Arabic and English layout serves both Emirati and expatriate customers. In Pakistan, an Urdu and English layout helps families who prefer reading Urdu, while keeping English for accounting.

Points to get right on bilingual receipts:

• Right-to-left layout. Arabic and Urdu read right to left, so the layout must handle mixed directions cleanly.
• Numbers and currency. Use the format your customers expect, such as AED 1,234.00 or Rs 12,345.
• Dates. Day, month, year is standard in both markets.
• Card messages. If you print enclosure cards in Arabic or Urdu, check the font displays correctly before peak season.

GetFloristPOS supports invoice layouts per location and per language, with interface and receipt translations in English, Arabic, Urdu and Spanish, so a shop in Sharjah and a shop in Karachi can each print what their customers read.

A quick comparison of the two markets

Both markets reward the same habits: clear prices, orders moved out of chats into records, deposits tracked for events and peaks planned weeks ahead. The table below summarizes the main differences for a shop owner deciding how to set up.

Whichever market you work in, the fundamentals stay the same. Know your costs, plan your peaks, keep every order in one book and give customers receipts they can read.

UAEPakistanWeddingsMothers Day