ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 With Florida gas prices jumping to more than $4.20 per gallon, an Orlando florist said they are putting financial pressure on daily operations of businesses like hers that rely heavily on driving.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Gas prices are averaging over $4 per gallon nationwide and higher in Florida than the national average
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A Central Florida flower shop makes 60\u201380 deliveries daily and spends up to $2,000 monthly on gas
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Harry’s Famous Flowers is not raising prices yet, despite increasing costs ahead of Mother\u2019s Day
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Experts say small businesses may soon face tough decisions, including adding surcharges<\/p>\n
Harry\u2019s Famous Flowers co-owner Andreza Lustri said delivery services are a major part of her shop’s business because drivers complete 60-80 deliveries a day on average.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a big issue right now, but we are waiting to see how we\u2019ll be in the future because we think this will be temporary,\u201d Lustri said.<\/p>\n
The national average price of gas is hovering around $4.08 per gallon<\/a>, according to AAA. Florida\u2019s average is even higher, at $4.23 per gallon<\/a>, AAA reported.<\/p>\n The timing couldn\u2019t be more challenging because the business is heading into one of its busiest seasons, Lustri said.<\/p>\n \u201cMother\u2019s Day is coming, so that\u2019s a big concern because it’s just around the corner,” Lustri said. “The flowers will cost more.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, Harry’s Famous Flowers is choosing not to pass on those added costs to customers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand everyone is in the same boat,\u201d Lustri said.<\/p>\n Global factors are contributing to the higher prices at the pump, according to experts.<\/p>\n \u201cFuel costs affect companies of all sizes,”\u00a0said Sean Snaith, the director of UCF’s Institute for Economic Forecasting. “The primary difference with small businesses as opposed to, say, an airline is they don\u2019t have the ability to hedge against price increases like this.\u201d<\/p>\n Some businesses may be forced to make difficult decisions if prices remain high, Snaith said. Some may even consider adding surcharges to offset rising costs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe business also has to consider what are their competitors doing? Are their competitors adding a charge?” Snaith said. “Well, if I add a charge and my competitors don\u2019t, is that going to put me at a disadvantage?\u201d<\/p>\n For Lustri and her team, the goal is to hold steady for as long as possible.<\/p>\n Harry’s Famous Flowers currently spends $1,500-$2,000 a month on gas, she said. If prices continue to rise, that number is expected to increase. If there is no short-term relief, the shop may eventually have to raise prices, but Lustri said they are trying to avoid putting that burden on their customers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are really trying to hold and make things better,\u201d Lustri said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 With Florida gas prices jumping to more than $4.20 per gallon, an Orlando florist said…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216756,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[2031,6507,558,115,1335,139,141,140,835],"class_list":{"0":"post-216755","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-app-local-business","9":"tag-ashley-engle","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-orange-county","13":"tag-orlando","14":"tag-orlando-headlines","15":"tag-orlando-news","16":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}