The?Barometer of Trade report from the?Garden Centre Association says sunny weather is to thank for garden centre sales soaring.
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Outdoor plant sales were up 26.94% compared to the same month last year. Sales in houseplants were at 24.1% up.
Good weather helps
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Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive, said: ?It?s hard to believe that earlier in the year we had such terrible weather. It affected sales, but recently we?ve enjoyed heat waves across the country.
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?After a big boost in sales in May thanks to the weather and the Bank Holidays, it was great to see the good weather continue into June. It has done wonders for our member garden centres.?
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Seed and bulb sales were also up at 18.52%, garden sundries sales were up 21.17% and furniture and barbecue sales were up 19.82% compared to the same month last year.
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Sales were also up in pets and aquatics at 5.31%, gifts at 3.97% and hard landscaping at 13.11%. Non-traditional categories also did well, with food hall and farm shop sales up 7.05%, clothing up 18.53% and catering up 5.84%.
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In total, sales for the month were up 22.84% with a year to date change of 1.12%.
‘Best ever month’
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Sarah Squire said: ?After a challenging spring due to weather delaying the start of the gardening season, May 2018 was our best-ever month.
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“Although we had some concern over how well the season would extend into June, the sunshine encouraged people to get outdoors.
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?We had a solid performance in June. Sales were up 24% year on year, driven by demand across all plants and our extensive outdoor living range.?
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The GCA BoT report uses actual sales figures and provides an up-to-date trading position statement.
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The BoT reports allow members to compare their trading positions with other centres.
‘Up year on year’
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Matthew Bent said: ?Sales in both outdoor plants and houseplants are up year to date. But it has been a tough month particularly for outdoor plants.
“The warm weather has definitely had an impact on footfall – it has almost been too hot! People are choosing to stay at home and enjoy their garden, rather than getting out and about to buy plants.
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?But, this has actually had a positive impact in other areas of outdoor living as people are choosing to invest in the garden in other ways.
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Sales of garden furniture, barbecues, lighting and garden decoration are all up at a time of year when they can sometimes be quite slow.?
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