The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) has released its August Market Update, highlighting the horticultural industry’s commendable resilience in plant sales, despite the prevailing economic challenges. While the garden retail sector continues to witness an upswing in plant purchases, customers are displaying a tendency to reduce spending on higher-value items. This shift in consumer behavior is placing added pressure on an industry already grappling with various concerns, including escalating costs, economic fluctuations, labor shortages, unpredictable weather patterns, and wavering consumer confidence.
Fran Barnes, Chief Executive of the HTA, emphasized the industry’s ability to weather the ever-evolving landscape of 2023. Garden center sales, in particular, demonstrated notable growth, registering a positive 3% increase compared to August 2022. Furthermore, the number of transactions surged by 8%, indicating robust foot traffic in garden centers. Notable categories such as bulbs, bedding, and hardy plants experienced significant growth, reinforcing the enduring appeal of plants among a nation of avid gardeners.
Despite these encouraging trends, concerns persist within the industry regarding unsold stock and ongoing economic uncertainty. Notably, the garden furniture category faced challenges, with retailers offering steeper discounts to clear excess inventory. This was compounded by unfavorable weather conditions, contributing to a decrease of 42% in sales compared to the previous year. In August 2023, garden furniture accounted for 8% of total sales, down from 14% in August 2022. The accelerated product replacement cycle, attributed to the impact of COVID, further influenced these sales dynamics.
The August Consumer Confidence Index showed a positive recovery of +5 points, indicating increased optimism about future financial outlooks among consumers. However, faced with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, consumers have adopted a more discerning shopping approach, actively seeking savings amidst rising expenses.
In contrast to the garden-related categories, non-garden and non-gardening product categories experienced remarkable growth, with a +14% increase in August compared to the previous year. This thriving activity also extended to garden center cafes and restaurants, where transaction numbers in catering spiked by an impressive +17%.
The report further highlights inflation rates within the industry, with noticeable increases in various product categories over the 12 months leading up to August 2023. These inflationary pressures were driven by escalating input and ingredient costs.
The HTA’s August Market Update serves as an invaluable resource for its members, providing insights into their positioning within the association and identifying areas of resilience, challenges, and opportunities in a dynamic and evolving landscape.