The positive relationship citizenry build with gardening as they navigated lockdown stay on to flourish as temperature drop .
Almost three million fresh people take up horticulture during 2020 and as their enthusiasm to continue with their new - recover hobby picture no signs of slowing , garden centres are see this interest translate into sales says the Horticultural Trades Association ( HTA ) .
In its Market Update for December , the craft physical structure for the UK garden diligence , found garden centre sales in November were 11 % up on November 2019 . This was repel by surpassing garden / horticulture category sales that finished the month 60 % up on November of last year . Non - garden / horticulture ranges also showed good signboard of recovery despite the closure of cafes and eating house , helping calendar yr to end of November comparisons finish -10 % down on the same flow of 2019 .
Christmas sale were up 47 % on November 2019 stratum suggesting people may have been turning to garden centres to start their Christmas shopping , and the festive mode is proceed into December postdate the Government ’s annunciation that garden centres can support Christmas grot in England so long as robust COVID-19 process are in property and are prescribe in Scotland according to the tier system .
Catering typically makes up 21 % of turnover in November amongst garden centres with a catering offer ; so , with cafes and restaurants forced to close once again , overall catering sale have been pip , and were down -83 % on November 2019 levels follow closure part style through the calendar month of November .
" It is hugely supporting with now over 25 m gardeners in the UK there seems to be no allow - up in their interest group in gardening . We should n’t underestimate the trouble a 10 % year to date capitulation in sales compared with 2019 brings to the sector . However sustained consumer interestingness in horticulture helps to provide a strong basis for the sphere to build on and be an economic number one wood for the UK economy . We recognise the responsibility we have in being able to swop when others can not and how this persist in to be a hard clock time for the wider retail industry and society in these constrained time . With consumer authority at a historical low we are pleased our sphere can take some joy at Christmas during these ruffianly times and help consumers to observe and palpate good go into 2021 . ”
HTA Market Update is available free for fellow member to download from the HTA website , by access and visiting theMarket Update varlet .
For more entropy : Horticultural Trades AssociationHorticulture House19 high-pitched StreetThealeReadingWest BerkshireRG7 5AHT : +44 ( 0)118 930 3132Fax : +44 ( 0)118 932 3453NGGV : +44 ( 0)118 930 2092www.the-hta.org.uk
