|
The days of color bowls with a Dracaena spike stuck in the middle are over. The trend is more toward a beautifully finished product. If plant groupings are not brilliant or otherwise irresistible, they simply won’t sell, especially when it comes to end caps and container gardens. Ho-hum looking containers will likely just sit on the retail bench/shelf. One reason is because of tighter consumer budgets. Another reason for a no sale is consumers have become much more discriminating in what they will purchase, including plants. They want gorgeous plants presented to them in interesting ways.
Consumers want to be courted and entertained, and to feel that their interests have been considered in the plant selection process. If they simply wanted cheap plants, there are plenty of options available. Customers come to retail growers and independent garden centers because they expect to find the best quality and selection. These businesses should also try to be known for having great ideas of how to use the plants they offer.
Arranging together plants of color like these alternantheras and begonias amplifies the effect of each. It demonstrates how consumers can combine foliage with flowering plants.
Manikin pots
Randolph’s Greenhouses tries to offer the most interesting foliage plants and flowers, but showing our customers how to use them is the key to the sale. One of the easiest point-of-sale promotional tools is to display a manikin pot or customer container centered in an end-cap. A great bench display should have all the materials of the finished container surrounding it to make it easy for customers to find the plants. This type of display helps consumers see the finished results and provides a real financial reward rather than simply seeing rows of plants lined up on the bench or floor.
Many combination containers can be expensive, but that’s not the reason I plant them. There are real advantages to having larger containers displayed on the bench for a major portion of the selling season. The plants grow and show customers what to expect from the combinations. As combinations mature and fill out the containers, they become irresistible and might actually sell themselves if they satisfy the right customers’ needs.
Easier selection
Another way to assist customers is by separating plants into areas of sun and shade. When plants with different light requirements are mixed together, it can be very confusing for novice gardeners to select the right plants to meet their particular planting conditions. This will require consumers to have to ask about the proper growing conditions, or otherwise they may feel intimidated, which could reduce their plant purchases.
Designating areas for their specific growing conditions makes the plant selection and buying decision process much easier. Consumers may not know the name of the plants, but if you answer their questions about where the plants will do best increases their chances for success.
Studies have shown that simple and fewer choices are the main reason people shop at big box stores. However if independent garden centers followed the big box setup, chances are they wouldn’t stay in business very long. Consumers expect more from the independents—more variety and more expertise.
Most people within the horticulture industry are knowledgeable about plant varieties. When we scan over a bench of plants, we are usually looking for a particular plant or a plant with outstanding characteristics. Consumer plant knowledge varies from the professional to the basic beginner. If we can raise the enjoyment level of shopping with creativity and enthusiasm, it will attract new customers and keep the regular ones coming back for more.
Rita Randolph is owner, Randolph’s Greenhouses, (731) 422-2768; www.randolphsgreenhouses.com.
|
