‘Showrooming’ is a new piece of jargon that we’re all going to get tired of pretty soon. It refers to the practice of using a shop to browse and bone up on products, then buying from a cheaper online retailer.

Nothing new there…but this once-feared trend has in double quick time become a serious reality across almost all retail sectors, including the garden retail industry, thanks in part to the relentless march of smartphone and tablet technology, which makes it easy to check how the price of the product you’re looking at in-store compares to online sources. Only this week, the British Retail Consortium reported that in the fourth quarter of 2012, search volumes on tablet devices outpaced those on any other device, increasing by 238% and on smartphone devices by 76%.

A survey before Christmas by Real Business Today (realbusiness.co.uk) revealed that that one in five shoppers said they had researched online after a store visit – and nearly half of those ended up buying elsewhere. This, says Peter Ballard, author of an article that first appeared on foolproof.co.uk, means that “nearly 10 per cent of sales are walking out of the door as a direct result of showrooming activities. So it is no surprise that those retailers who seem least well equipped to deal with that loss are finding it hard to stay in business”.

He cited the demise of HMV as a prime example of what can happen next. “Almost their entire product line is easily found at lower prices on Amazon and other online retailers, and reliable and often free next day postal delivery, there are no compelling reasons to pay more just to own it today,”

Ballard concludes that HMV’s problem, like Comet, Jessops and Blockbuster, is that they failed to understand and respond to changes in consumer shopping behaviour.

Will the showrooming phenomenon affect garden centres, too? It already has. I have spoken to suppliers and retailers who have serious concerns about the way that online sales of garden furniture and barbecues are cannibalising garden centre outdoor leisure turnover. One supplier I spoke to has threatened to pull back from garden centres altogether, and a number of retailers have told me they are now questioning whether or not they should continue to sell garden furniture when all they have become is a showroom for internet traders.

Clearly, if garden centres want to remain serious players in the outdoor leisure category, they may be forced to play it differently. More staff with more detailed product knowledge – and a greater willingness to engage with customers in the sales process – will be required, as well as a more creative approach to display and merchandising. Retail theatre works for Christmas – the same principles now need to be applied to what passes for high summer in the UK.

But there is another debate to be had here. Just where do suppliers stand on pricing and distribution policies and online strategies?

There is a view within the Leisure & Outdoor Furniture Association (LOFA) that ‘showrooming’ is more of an issue for retailers to address than for suppliers. “A small number of our members also have consumer outlets and they tend to be of the internet type,” says LOFA’s Secretary, Phil Gibbs. “Our position is that, because the majority of items supplied by our members tend to be large and discretionary purchases, rather than impulse, consumers generally are more likely to want to be hands on in a showroom than to buy unseen online, and will purchase if the price is right. It is down to the retailers and suppliers to negotiate to get the prices right. In a way, our members per se are not as affected by it as retailers, because we have already sold the goods to the retailer.

Price, says Gibbs, will always be the leading driver but service comes into it too. “If you get good customer service and after sales back-up with good advice, you will be prepared to pay that little bit more."

But another trade show leader, Neil Gow of the Garden Industry Manufacturers Association (GIMA), who also owns the Fresh@burcot garden centre, believes ‘showrooming’ is already an ingrained consumer behaviour. “I wonder what these suppliers will think when they have no ‘showrooms’ left?” he said.  “Online retailers are going to pick off more and more over the coming years, first furniture and barbecues, then garden tools, machinery, hoses and fittings and so on. How long before garden centres become just coffee shops selling a few impulse plants, compost, chemicals and a bit of giftware?”

• If you have a view, we'd like to hear from you. What is your attitude to suppliers who supply garden centres but also trade online, either direct to consumers or through other internet retailers? If you are a supplier, how do you square the differing demands of online and bricks and mortar retailing? And if you are a garden centre who also sells garden furniture online, how do you see it? We will publish your views in a future issue of GTN Xtra. Email your comments to: trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or mike.wyatt@tgcmc.co.uk

Week three of this year compares almost exactly with week 2 in 2010 when we had the start of a long spell with snow on the ground for weeks.

Fortunately the weather is forecast to warm up this weeeknd so hopefully the freeze won’t keep customers off their gardens for too long.

While garden products, veg to grow and compost sales all suffered from very low total volume sales, there was good volume sales in winter products such as sledges,  de-icers, logs and coal.

The cold snap has also spurred Wild Bird Care sales into life as well.

To view our seasonal Winter Products and Wild Bird Care Top 20 sales charts subscribe to receive the GTN Bestsellers Weekly Charts for only £120.00 per year click here

Fiskars in the UK have opened a spacious new showroom at their Nottingham HQ this spring as part of a major drive to push sales.

The showroom, which features inspirational ‘real life’ displays of Fiskars garden tools and ebertsankey containers and water butts, will also be used for trade meetings and training programmes for retail staff.

The showroom gives retailers who haven't yet seen Fiskars current FSDU- unit-based Powergear promotional offers a chance to check them out. The campaign, which runs until the end of March, is exclusive to garden centres and majors on three ready-stocked units – one each for Powergear by-pass pruners, hedge shear and loppers.

Meanwhile, the company say the 2013 national TV advertising campaign for the popular Weed Puller, with its ‘No weeds, no backache’message, will start on Thursday 28 March, just before the key Easter week-end. Weedpullers, in fixed and telescopic handle versions, will be delivered in ready-stocked FSDU units of 16.

Last year’s Weed Puller  TVcampaign helped to give Fiskars 54.8 per cent share by value of the £4.15 million hoes and weeders category* - an increase of 34 per cent over 2011, year of the Weedpuller’s UK launch. “We sell relatively few hoes, so the majority of those sales were Weed Pullers,” Miko Manninen, Fiskars’ UK marketing director, told GTN Xtra. “The data clearly shows that we dominate the high price points in this category. We believe there is massive potential for garden centres who stock the Weedpuller.”

Information 0115 927 7335  www.fiskars.com

Every week GTN receives and analyses epos data from a number of UK garden centres to produce the GTN Bestsellers charts and weekly bestsellers sales tips.

The full charts which provide useful insight into product sales peaks, new trends and new link sales opportunities are published in the weekly GTN Xtra printed newsletter and on the GTN website www.gardentradenews.co.uk.

New for this year, every week we'll give sales volume comparisons with 2011 as well as 2012 to allow your teams to see variations over a three year period.

Access is by subscription only.  For £120.00 per year you and your team can have access to the most upto date gardening sales analysis that has already helped many UK garden centres increase their sales.  To subscribe call 01733 775700, or subscribe on-line here

 

or e-mail karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

Highlights of the GTN Garden Products Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Veg-2-Gro Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Growing Media Bestsellers chart for this week are here

WARNING the GTN Bestsellers Charts seriously improve the business of our subscribers.  Invest 15 minutes each week in improving your sales using the GTN Bestsellers charts and your turnover and customer satisfaction will improve too.

• Gardman Orchid Drip Feeders 3ml, pack of 4, at No 3.

• Growth Technology Orchid Myst, 100ml, at No 5 while the 300ml version is at No 10.

• Fito Orchid Drip Feeder, 5 Pack, jumped 27 places to No 15.

But onion sets are holding up well with four Taylors products in the Top 5 f the GTN Bestsellers Veg-2-Gro chart. They also hold the other spot with their Garlic Marco.

Rhubarb is once again a big chart mover with Taylors Rhubarb Red Champagne jumping nine places to No 12.

This week’s highest re-entry is Unwins Seed Potatoes Rocket, 2kg, which has jumped straight in at No 7. There are a number of Unwins seed potato varieties figuring promptly this week, including Pentland Javelin (pictured below) re-entering the Veg-2-Gro chart at No 11.

Taylors Shallots have also had a good week with Picasso being the highest new entry at No 18 and French Shallots Longor is the highest climber at No 21, moving up 26 places.

The CPD points will go towards the ongoing development of Suitably Qualified People (SQP) working in the pet industry. An SQP is registered with the Animal Medicines Training Regulatory Authority (AMTRA), and is allowed to prescribe and/or supply certain medicines.

The Merial seminar at PATS Sandown on ‘Why understanding fleas and flea control is important for your business’ is AMTRA-accredited, and CPD points will be earned by visitors who register beforehand and then attend the talk.

The seminar is being given by Tanya Leslie, technical manager for Merial’s Frontline Spot On product, and those wishing to attend and earn CPD points need to pre-book their place. There are a limited number of places available on a first-come-first-served basis so it’s advisable to register online immediately at www.patshow.co.uk/merial/

Tanya will be giving a seminar on both days of PATS Sandown (Tuesday and Wednesday, March 19-20). Each talk will start at 2.20pm and is scheduled to last 40 minutes.

As well as the Merial seminar there’s an impressive list of other talks planned for Sandown, designed to give visitors valuable advice on how they can improve their business.

Justin Heaton from Burgess Petcare will be discussing ways to drive sales in the small animal category while Chris Collier from Mars Petcare will give an insight into understanding your shoppers.

With internet shopping becoming more popular, Guy Blaskey, of Pooch & Mutt, will suggest how pet stores can thrive in the internet age. And Intelligent Retail’s David Mackley will be offering advice on getting more online visitors by using the latest Google changes to their advantage.

For those pet shop owners thinking of selling reptiles for the first time, Repta’s Chris Newman will be giving an introduction into responsible reptile retailing.

Apart from the Merial seminar, visitors can simply turn up for the talks as they don’t have to be pre-booked.

As well as this free programme of seminars there will be so much more to see and talk about at PATS Sandown with over 160 exhibitors packing the Surrey and Esher Halls.

Visitors are now being urged to register for free show entry by going online at www.patshow.co.uk.  Other benefits include free parking, free catalogue, dog grooming demonstrations and many special offers. The PATS hotline is +44 (0)1892 862848.

Bactuur Clean contains a high concentration of heterotrophic bacteria (over 200million bacteria per ml). The bacteria in Bactuur Clean will quickly and effectively decompose sludge which has accumulated in the filter and on the bottom of the pond. As well as being unsightly, sludge adversely affects bacteria growth in the filter and general pond environment.

Bactuur Activator is a vegetable catalyst which contains essential nutrients to activate and improve the performance of bacteria in Bactuur Filterstart and Bactuur Clean. The use of Bactuur Activator accelerates the start up of new filters when combined with Bactuur Filterstart.

Supplied in high quality packaging with clear instructions for use Colombo Bactuur water treatments are available in 500ml, 1,000ml and 2,500ml packs.

Colombo have been manufacturing aquarium water treatments for over 30 years and have a comprehensive range of products to deal with all water quality and fish health problems.  

For more information about Colombo Bactuur water treatments contact Pedigree Aquatic Wholesale on 0115 982 3900 or Aquadistri on 01767 677075.

William ‘Jock’ Davidson, one of the nursery industry’s most colourful characters, has died, aged 89.

Jock was best known in the trade as shows manager for Rochfords, the Hertfordshire growers of pot plants, where the term ‘houseplant’ was coined, setting a trend in the 1950s. He was one of the world’s foremost houseplant experts and was responsible for numerous award winning exhibits at flower shows.

From 1980 to 2000, Jock was a columnist for Garden Trade News and various gardening magazines. He wrote a number of books and made regular TV and radio appearances, including the BBC’s Gardeners’ Question Time.

Jock, who lived in Welwyn Garden City, was renowned for his cheeky humour. GTN Editor Mike Wyatt recalls: “He was once asked what was the most dangerous plant to sit under in the garden. He replied: ‘The water lily’.

He leaves a widow, Terri.