Staff knowledge is the most influential factor when gardening consumers are deciding where to shop, according to the latest market report from analysts Mintel.

In‘Garden Products Retailing UK - June 2016’ (£1,750 from store.mintel.com), Mintel says inspirational displays influence 40%, while 23% say cafés are important. The 25-44 age group values an informative website.

Mintel’s research suggests that 50% of consumers perceive the garden as ‘a pleasant pastime’, while it is viewed as ‘a practical environment’ by 26%. For 24%, the garden is another room. More than a third of consumers claim gardening is a favourite pastime.

The report says steady growth in a market of 22.8 million gardens is forecast until 2021, fuelled by demand from the over-55s, whose numbers will have increased by more than 1.9 million by 2020.

Around 45% of people with a garden or outdoor space have shopped for garden products at B&Q in the past year, the research claims.