Market information


Opportunities among older consumers


Large numbers of consumers in their 50s and 60s now visit garden centres with the expectation of a great leisure shopping experience


One of the findings of the HTA’s Garden Retail Market Analysis Report was that younger consumers are increasingly seeing their spend on garden products squeezed. But what about older consumers? Consumers aged over 45 account for around two thirds of the garden retail market by value of spend, and as a whole the UK’s population is getting older. So what might this mean in terms of opportunities? A survey conducted for the HTA by Ipsos Mori in May 2012


showed that around one in five people with a garden aged over 65 had paid someone other than a friend or family member to help maintain their garden in the previous year. That compares with around one in 10 for the population as a whole. Three quarters of these over-65s said the reason they’d paid someone to do the task rather than do it themselves was due to age or health-related issues. The chart showing the population profile of the UK


shows that in the next few years more consumers than ever may begin to feel the need for help to keep enjoying their gardens. That’s not to say they’ll necessarily pay for garden maintenance services to address this need, but it’s not a wild stretch of the imagination to see an increasing demand in the coming years for products and services that take the physical strain out of gardening. And what about the garden retail environment? Large numbers of consumers in their 50s and 60s now visit garden centres with the expectation of a great leisure shopping experience, as well as the outlet of choice for garden purchases. For example, at a garden centre in the Cotswolds customers can now order compost online for home delivery. Not only does this service reduce the physical demands of carrying around heavy bags of growing media during a shopping trip, it frees


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up more basket space for plants and other purchases. Compared with younger consumers, customers in their 50s


and 60s tend to spend more on plants. The emotional benefits plants provide, such as the sense of happiness from colours and scents and the satisfaction gained from growing them, strongly appeal to the over 50s. And these consumers are also more likely to see gardening as a hobby than younger people, meaning information on plants and their heritage is likely to enrich the store environment and shopping experience for them. _For a free summary of the HTA’s Garden Retail Market Analysis Report visit www.the-hta.org.uk/marketinformation


2013


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