After all the gains of the first week of February, the Beast from the East (2021 edition) caused garden centre sales to plummet, but not to the depths of the Beast from the East (2018).
With footfall patchy during the snow and freezing conditions every area of garden centre sales dropped week on week. Only Wild Bird Care sales saw an increase on the same week last year.
As we all wait for the Prime Minister’s plan for moving out of lockdown now is the time to be making sure your social media marketing is getting into gear and that your team is ready to answer all those questions that will come from new gardeners.
Over the next few weeks more people will be venturing out into their gardens. As a retail sector, we need to make sure garden centres are the first port of call and that we figuratively wrap our arms around them to help them get the most from their outdoor spaces in 2021.
Have you implemented any specific new training programmes for your staff? And what have you added to your information delivery to cater for more new gardeners? Do let us know about your new ideas to support new gardeners. Email trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk
GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year: week 6.
- Garden Products Top 50 – down 8%
- Growing Media Top 50 – down 37%
- Veg 2 Gro Top 50 – down 10%
- Wild Bird & Wildlife Care Top 50 – up 21%
GTN Bestsellers All Sales volumes compared to the same week last year: week 6.
- All Plants with Barcode index – down 56%
- All Items with Barcode index – down 28%
See the full GTN Bestsellers Top 50 charts, compiled from garden centre Epos data every week, with a years subscription to the printed newsletter for only £145.00 using this link.