The Garden Centre Association’s Barometer of Trade results for May have revealed strong sales at member garden centres during the month.
Overall sales were up 15.11% in comparison to May 2012 with seeds and bulbs up 38.58%, outdoor plants up 17.71% and hard landscaping up 33.39%.
This compares with the 3.1% retail spending increase for May across the whole retail sector, as published by the Office for National Statistics earlier this week.
Peter Burks, Chairman of the GCA, explained: “May was a good month all round for our member garden centres, with all areas performing well. It was apparent from sales lots of people were out in their gardens planting both hardy nursery stock and bedding plants, as well as seeds.
“Outdoor plants were up 17.71%, garden sundries 20.02%, furniture and barbecues 7.29%, food hall and farm shop 14.52% and catering 15.81%.
“We are thrilled to have had a good May, following a strong April, but unfortunately this still has not allowed our members to recoup losses they saw during the first few months of the year. The overall year to date figures, calculated at the end of May, stand at 2.39% down.”
The GCA BoT reports are compiled using actual sales figures and provide an up-to-date trading position statement.
James Ducker, Director of Langlands, which owns Leeds Garden Centre and Shiptonthorpe Garden Centre, both in Yorkshire, said: “May was a fantastic month for our garden centres, with Leeds Garden Centre finishing the month 47% up and Shiptonthorpe Garden Centre 16% up.
“We saw increased footfall in both centres and people were definitely buying in volume and spending more. At our Leeds store seeds and bulbs were up 147% and outdoor plants up 62% while garden furniture and barbecues were up 38% at our centre at Shiptonthorpe.”
The BoT reports produced by the GCA allow member garden centres to compare their trading positions with other centres.
The Office for National Statistics also revealed that volume sales were up 1.9% year on year for May. GTN Bestsellers' weekly Epos data analysis reported a 37% volume sales increase across weeks 18 to 22, confirming that garden centres have fared much better than other retail sectors.
The discrepancy between the GCA increase for May and the GTN Bestsellers volume increase indicates more, lower priced items being purchased. That could simply be more plants being purchased, at a lower unit cost, as the weather was much better for gardening this May. Is that your experience? Let us know via the comments button below or e-mail trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk
The Office for National Statistics also revealed that volume sales were up 1.9% year on year for May. GTN Bestsellers' weekly Epos data analysis reported a 37% volume sales increase across weeks 18 to 22, confirming that garden centres have fared much better than other retail sectors. 
