Summer 2021 sales are bucking the trends of past years. Usually, sales start falling during the first week of June but this year the reverse has happened with sales increasing to the highest volume sales level of the year and almost matching the post Lockdown#1 closure peak of 2020.
Plants and gardening items flew through tills as total volume sales were 30% up on the first week of June last year. Plant sales volumes zoomed up by 5% to be 38% higher than last year and even growing media volumes, which currently stand at 65% up on last year to date, were up by 25% on the same week in 2020.
The weather can be blamed for May’s overall sales performance. Sales volumes for the month were 2% down on the average for the nine years before 2020, in line with temperatures being below average for the month.
Despite that drop for May, year to date sales are now 12% up on 2019 volumes and 15% up on 2018. With continued warm weather forecast for the next few weeks we could now be looking at reaching the half year between 15% and 20% up on previous garden centre sales highs.
GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week in 2020: week 23.
- Garden Products Top 50 – up 7%
- Growing Media Top 50 – up 25%
- Veg 2 Gro Top 50 – down 17%
- Wild Bird & Wildlife Care Top 50 – down 19%
GTN Bestsellers All Sales volumes compared to the same week in 2020: week 23.
- All Plants with Barcode index – up 38%
- All Items with Barcode index – up 30%
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