SAF Chief Economist:
Monday’s stock market crash shouldn’t worry floral businesses too much, said the Society of American Florists’ Chief Economist Charlie Hall, Ph.D.
“There have been plenty of circumstances like this — like we’ve seen over the last week,” Hall said during his keynote address at SAF Miami 2024, SAF’s annual convention which kicked off today in Miami. “The stock market is not the real economy. The stock market goes up and it goes down based on expectations.”
Keep Perspective
Today’s economic environment requires a similar long-term perspective, Hall told an audience of about 490 people.
He noted that while short-term economic data — such as the recent increase in job claims and a lower-than-expected jobs report — might suggest instability, these metrics alone do not capture the overall economic trajectory. Instead, Hall urged viewers to consider longer-term trends, highlighting that U.S. GDP growth has remained relatively steady despite various economic shocks, including the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.
And, he pointed out that the Federal Reserve isn’t panicking. Despite recent volatility in job reports and market performance, the Fed’s decisions to raise or lower interest rates are driven by broader economic conditions rather than immediate market reactions.
Floral business owners should also make strategic business decisions based on long-term business sales patterns. For instance, Hall referenced data from SAF’s Economic Outlook survey that shows flower sales are up from 2019, even though this year many respondents reported that their sales were down over last year.
Read more at safnow.org