The missing link

Are you really aware of what consumers want and how they perceive gardening? Collaboration across the supply chain is critical for success. Communicate with your suppliers and customers about consumer trends. Work together on targeted marketing campaigns to get the consumer to buy plants and spend more money on green industry products each year.

GIE Media teamed up with Trone Brand Energy and surveyed 785 home gardeners from across the country to find out some of their purchasing habits. Use this information to help get better acquainted with the consumer and boost your sales.

Purchasing preferences and shopping habits
Some encouraging news: 77 percent of those polled planned to spend the same or more compared to 2012. A significant number of respondents spend up to $50 a year on flowers and edibles (in-ground and in containers). Are you meeting that need with your product mix?

Knowing where they buy is also important to your marketing plans. More than half of the consumers polled buy at least some of their plants at independent garden centers, typically visiting one to two stores (IGCs or mass retailers) per year. However, many customers would choose an IGC over a mass retailer for their knowledgeable staff (65 percent versus 43 percent). Also, 65 percent of respondents shop at IGCs because they prefer to shop local. Across the board, consumers are looking for the best selection of plants and flowers, and look for those that are the healthiest, highest-quality specimens.

It’s no secret that consumers use the Internet for all types of purchases, whether it’s clothing, office supplies, home décor or plants. The majority of consumers browse the Web to learn more about plants in general (75 percent) and discover how to deal with a specific problem (76 percent). Our survey also found that, among this audience, QR codes are not currently widely used. However, 27 percent of respondents said they’d be very likely to use QR codes to look up plant information in the future. So this isn’t a moot point just yet. Work with your retail customers to provide excellent gardening Internet sources for consumers.
 

How their garden grows
According to our survey, the majority of customers garden for their health, to have a pleasant space to spend time in, because it adds value to their homes and/or simply because they enjoy gardening. This is a good sign that some consumers are getting the “value message” that is so critical to plant sales. However, based on how much consumers in our survey are spending on plants each year, the industry has a lot more consumers to educate.

We must better market the economical, health and environmental benefits of plants and green spaces. Most gardeners add or replace plants and/or flowers once or twice a year, with in-ground flowers being the most popular, followed closely by container plants in general. Better marketing could increase this to double digits.
 

Trend watch
Recently, Garden Media Group released its 2014 Garden Trends Report. Use these demographic nuggets to learn more about the consumer.

A look at the ladies. Did you know that 40 percent of women are now the sole or primary earner for households with children under age 18? And more than 20 percent of wives earn more than their husbands. Women with incomes and no kids (also called WINKS) are an increasingly influential demographic in the new home market. Millennial women are larger buying demographic than female boomers. Single women account for 20 percent of all home buyers.

Health and well-being. A whopping 80 percent of Americans are eager to safeguard the future of their health and that of the environment and society around them. More people want to shrink their environmental footprint. Consumers are drawn to brands that help them live healthfully and sustainably. The Natural Marketing Institute expects consumers to increase behaviors and demand for sustainable products.

Environmentally beneficial. Products or services must be truly eco-positive. Consumers are looking for products whose consumption or existence actually benefits the environment. And consumers demand products that leave a lasting positive impact.

See the entire report at www.gardenmediagroup.com.

For more: See more research and find out about the respondents’ demographics at http://bit.ly/14J85cA.