Gardening Sales Grew Despite Lockdown

Growth in the overall gardening sector since the start of lockdown was 3.5% according to the second quarterly economic report from BHETA. 

The last two weeks in March were especially strong overall and especially for greenstock and growing media with 32.7% of all consumers making a purchase in this category. 

Gardening performed almost as well as DIY or home electricals over the same period, even though garden centres opened weeks later than DIY stores.

The Bheta reports expects that this category will suffer comparatively in the second quarter (Jun – Aug), owing to the disruption in April and May to garden centre trading, combined with the perishability of plants.  In contrast the association expects outdoor living and eating to beat expectations during Q2.

Google searches double during lockdown

Statistics on the consumption of YouTube ‘how to’ videos and Google searches during the lockdown suggest that more consumers have discovered gardening (and DIY and homebaking) and that their confidence and enjoyment of success has increased. 

This, says BHETA, bodes well for the future of whole home and garden sector even when other activities come back on to the agenda.  Google Trends reports a doubling in the number of searches for garden tools during lockdown. 

Growth in online purchasing to continue growing faster

The other big trend has been the significant acceleration in the shift to online purchases away from bricks and mortar, driven not only by store closures but also by the consumer preference to stay at home. 

While this is expected to revert somewhat, the pace of the shift is expected to remain higher than it was pre-pandemic. 

Consumers have realised that purchases of home and garden products can be made successfully online. Online sellers have upped their game and more bricks and mortar retailers are selling online as a result of recent months’ experiences.

Report contents

The second British Home Enhancement Trade Association (BHETA) quarterly economic report includes the impact of lockdown through to May 2020.  It pulls together multiple sources of data on trading in the home improvement, DIY, housewares, garden and small domestic appliances sectors during the lockdown period. 

It looks at category size, growth rates and consumer behaviour as well as retailer updates and a macro-economic overview.

 In a special addition to the usual list of contents, this edition includes a detailed analysis of the role of online shopping during the Covid-19 crisis.

Source : Reproduced with permission from George Bullivant at Gardenforum

For all the very latest news and intelligence on the UK's largest home improvement and garden retailers, sign up for the Insight DIY weekly newsletter.