How Does Weather Affect Garden Sales

Sales at garden centres across the UK are at their worst levels for five years.

The Garden Centre Association, which represents members in the city-region, said relentless rain, snow and a lack of spring sunshine has seen average underlying sales drop by up to 20 per cent at some businesses.

Iain Wylie, the association's chief executive, said consumers were not coming in to buy flowers and other plants because of waterlogged gardens.

He said the industry is praying for better weather.

"It's literally in the lap of the gods," he said. "We need a sustained period of good weather. The worst thing would be one good day, one bad day.

"It's been too cold and too wet and we need better weather to pick things up."

According to the Horticultural Trades Association, the UK garden market is worth about £5bn a year, with two-thirds of British adults visiting a garden centre at least once a year.

The last time garden centres had such a bad start to the year was 2013, said Mr Wylie. But conditions improved by the summer.

"There will be some lost sales, but hopefully they will catch up with later selling plants," he said.

"Nurseries produce crops that bud and flower at the time they should, but if the weather outside isn't conducive, it's very difficult to manage the production cycle."

Matthew Bent, managing director of Bents Garden & Home, in Glazebury, shared his experience.

"The garden centre industry is one which is very dependent on the weather and 2018 has given us one of the worse starts to the year that I can remember," he said. "But it's also one that's not consistent. Looking back on the same time last year it was the complete opposite and we were enjoying one of the best March/April periods for quite some time."

"The weather will always have a direct impact on our industry and we, like all garden centres, are seeing a hit on our sales, but at Bents we are doing quite well in comparison to other centres.

"We are currently 10 per cent down on last year but there are reports of some centres being 40 – 50 per cent down - a significant figure at this time of year.

"We think this is thanks to our diversification, offering our customers lots of different reasons to visit us. Our restaurant offerings and indoor departments are up, but plants and outdoor living are down in what is a key time of year for these types of sales.

"I think this week will be an interesting indicator. The forecast is good so it will be interesting to see how sales go. Whether the downturn is purely in relation to the appearance of the sun, or whether it's an indication of spending trends impacting the wider retail industry."