Consumer Tracking Study - A Marketing Research Update

A Profile of ConsumersÕ Floral Buying Habits at Garden Centers

By Doreen Zavada, Ipsos-NPD, Inc.

Seasonal/Regional Influences

While Garden Centers capture over one third of the consumer outdoor/bedding plant business, their share of this market varies over the course of the year. The share standing is highest in the spring and summer and is lowest in the winter quarter. Home Improvement Centers/Hardware Stores have the opposite pattern to their share of market. They capture their highest share of bedding plant transactions when Garden CentersÕ is lowest in the winter quarter.

% Share of Outdoor / Bedding Plant Transactions Year End August 2001
	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Garden Centers	31	18	37	38
Home Centers	28	35	19	21
Discount Chains	15	16	19	18
All Others	26	31	25	23
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%

Clearly, this reflects the difference in unit location of these two outlet types. Garden Centers arc most developed (transactions per available household) in the Northeast and East North Central regions of the US Ñ where winters and some store closures remove the opportunity for bedding plant buying. Unit location of Home Centers is concentrated in the Pacific and South Atlantic regions of the US where temperatures allow for planting ear around.

With which other retailers, then, do Garden Centers compete?

Garden Center customers satisfy 61% of their bedding plant needs at Garden Centers. When there is additional product to be purchased, they will purchase it at Home Centers and Discount Chains. When they arenÕt buying their flowering plants at Garden Centers, they choose to purchase them at a Supermarket. The preference for Supermarkets as an alternative is also seen in their fresh cut flower buying. Supermarkets satisfy over 40% of Garden Center customersÕ fresh cut flower needs, Florist Shops satisfy a lower 30%. When it comes to buying foliage plants. Garden Centers obtain 43% of their customersÕ transactions Ñ they use a variety of places to meet the balance of their needs (Home Centers, Discount Chains, and Supermarkets).

% Garden Center Customers’ Purchase Tranactions Year End August 2001 Share of Purchases Given to Garden Centers and Others
	Bedding Plants	Flowering Plants	Foliage Plants	Fresh Cut Flowers
Garden Centers	61	37	43	6
Home Centers	12	9	17	1
Discount Chains	11	12	12	3
Florist Shops	1	7	6	30
All Others	11	11	12	16
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%

In Summary

Garden Centers as a group have fared relatively well in this latest crop year Garden Centers, through their outdoor/bedding plant offerings, have reached households with higher incomes, who choose to make their purchase at a Garden Center because of the product quality and selection. Their weak share in the winter quarter seems not a switch to shopping in Home Centers for bedding plants but rather a matter of difference in location of the stores.

Garden Centers may wish to monitor the product offerings and price point of flowering plants sold in Supermarkets in particular, as they are a clear competitor for this product Ñ and monitor the unit development of Home Centers in their area (as a potential competitor for bedding plants).

About the Study

Ipsos-NPD has been tracking and providing the floriculture industry with data on consumer purchasing of flowers and plants since 1992. Reports are compiled from information reported by a panel of 9,000 nationally representative households who maintain daily purchase diaries for lpsos-NPD. For more information about the Consumer Tracking Study (collected for the American Floral Endowment), contact Steve Martinez at 618-692-0045 or afe@endowment.org.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 3rd, 2002 at 12:13 pm and is filed under Newsletters, Fall 2002. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.