Christmas is either peaking too soon or we are just in for a bumper season, according to EPOS data supplied by garden centres for GTN Bestsellers. 

As the graph below shows, last week the sales volume of the GTN Christmas Top 50 products matched the peak of 2014 in the second week of December and was only 7% behind last year’s bestselling week at the start of December.

With ice rinks opening, grottos already fully booked and plenty of other Christmas events planned, our gut feel is that despite the economic uncertainty at the moment, customers are using Christmas as a ‘feel good’ excuse, and where garden centres have visually appealing displays with a mix of great products on sale, high levels of purchase are inevitable.

What do you think about the prospects for the rest of the Christmas Spirit? Have we peaked too soon? Do let us know by email: trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year...

Garden Products - down 21%

Growing Media - down 3%

Wild Bird Care - down 8%

Christmas Products - up 38%

All Plants Index - up 45%

All Items Index - up 5%

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