Figures from the HTA’s Retail Business Benchmark survey of independent garden retailers show average sales for the month up 8.2% on 2009 levels. The June results made up for disappointing sales in April and May although they were not enough to recover all of the ground lost earlier in the year when trade was badly hit by one of the harshest winters on record.
HTA’s Director of Marketing, Andrew Maxted, said, “It is encouraging to see the garden industry sustaining much of the growth experienced in 2009 which was widely regarded as a golden year.”
He adds, “Despite challenges to public and household budgets, consumers have continued to spend on their gardens and June’s good weather has helped consolidate the gains from last year. Early indications are that July proved another good month and the garden industry appears better prepared than many sectors for the choppy recovery ahead.”
Forecasts for the HTA by the Future Foundation predict that in-home leisure spending, which includes gardening, will continue to increase between now and 2012, with a rate of growth outstripping out-of-home leisure spending.
The HTA GIM Market Update is published on a quarterly basis with the next edition available in November covering the third quarter/July to September period. HTA members wishing to access the update can download it free of charge from the market information section of the HTA website www.the-hta.org.uk
