The Horticultural Trades Association’s Market Update report shows that nationally garden centre sales were 46% down in January from the same month last year.
However, the prolonged increase in time spent at home may be driving consumers to think about making more significant improvements to their garden spaces as we approach the warmer months under lockdown restrictions once more, as average transactions grew by 64% to £23.56.
Sales of garden/gardening categories were 17% down, dampened by the widespread snow and wet weather; whilst non-garden/gardening categories saw a 60% decline on January 2020 sales, with the impact of catering closures a major contributor. Catering typically makes up 25-30% of turnover in January for garden centres with a café or restaurant.
The HTA Market Update February report shows that consumer concerns have shifted away from the NHS/healthcare and towards EU Exit, the economy and unemployment, which now stands at 5%, the highest rate since 2016.