In This Issue
Plans to phase out the use of peat in the amateur horticulture sector
'Work with us to phase out peat use, protect the environment and safeguard the UK horticulture industry'
An Open Letter on the use of peat
Woodmansterne features in hit BBC2 show
Volume sales up by a whopping 28%!
12 page GIMA Awards Special in GTN November/December 2021 Issue available on-line
Huge growth for plant sales
Garden centre expands following nursery acquisition
Firmans Direct seek experienced Sales Agents
Dobbies Garden Centres rolls out EV charging
HTA statement on Seasonal Workers Scheme
Gardman is top of the pecking order
Value of partnership: LifestyleGarden and Eden Project
elho to extend its product range in 2022
Important takeover for family business Plantipp
Tong wins award for Christmas displays for fifth time
It’s the most jumperful time of year
Groves Nurseries spreads Christmas cheer
Christmas in the British Garden Centre restaurants
Perrywood Sudbury launches Christmas cheer campaign
Consumer confidence grows in lead up to Christmas
57 garden centres vie for Christmas Greatness in GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards
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New Sales Director at Trans-Continental Group Ltd (SnowTime & SunTime).
Reversing the trend
Bee Conservation Trust’s founder to create a buzz at GCA conference
Coining it at Christmas
‘Snow White’ apples and confident colour will abound in 2022, says RHS
No end to growing media sales growth
Southern Trident appoints new Sustainability Supply Chain Manager
Wild Bird Care sales are stable
From bug hotels to kneeling pads: Top 10 Xmas gifts for gardeners
Eden Project to establish 14 hectares of new wildflower habitat
Keukenhof: less than 100 days left until it opens
The best of last week's
Major flagship Dobbies centre starts to take shape
Brexit-hit sector asks why locals don’t want the jobs 
New electric vehicle charging points at Squire’s
Woodlodge to showcase collections at Spring Fair
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Consumer confidence grows in lead up to Christmas

 

The Horticultural Trades Association has released its Market Update report to inform its members on the state of trade during November. It provides valuable insight on consumer trends and behaviours as well as sales figures from the last month. According to the report, consumer financial confidence has increased by three points in November. 

 

The major purchase index has also increased by seven points, indicating consumers’ willingness to purchase large ticket items in the lead up to Christmas. This could be promising news for garden retailers and other horticultural businesses for December. 

 

However, with the new Covid variant and government measures introduced to reduce its impact, any affects on sales and footfall in the first part of December are yet to be reported.  

 

Christmas shopping is now in full swing and though the sale of Christmas products was down 11 percent compared to November 2020, they were up 38 percent from November 2019. Lights and tree decorations were both down 12 percent from November 2020’s sales, which were likely impacted by lockdown. Still, they were up significantly from November 2019 (lights +98 percent; Tree decorations +93 percent). Sales of artificial Christmas trees have been on par with sales from 2019 and down 32 percent from 2020. This could be because artificial trees have a longer product lifecycle, which could have been shifted forward to last year as consumers looked for different ways of making a restricted Christmas cheerier. Real Christmas tree sales have also increased from 2019, up by an impressive 42 percent. 

 

Though this is good news for retailers, the consumer issues tracker showed one in four British adults see the pandemic as a concerning issue and it seems likely that the emergence of the new variant will likely cause increased concern and behavioural changes, influencing consumer confidence and garden centre sales.  

 

The major issue consumers listed as their main concern during November 2021 was pollution/climate change, with four in ten people stating it was a worry to them - the highest since its inclusion in the survey in 1988, probably due to largescale media coverage of the COP26 conference. HTA members can get support in building sustainable businesses from our partner, Planet Mark 

 

In employment news, the UK unemployment rate had lowered to 4.3 percent in September 2021 as the job market continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic. However, the total job vacancies reached another record high with 1.17million vacancies; over 300,00 higher than pre pandemic times. This is likely to continue to cause issues for businesses struggling to negotiate the highly competitive recruitment market. The HTA continues to lobby government for support in easing some of the pressure through changes to the Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme

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