Shoppers make the most of the outdoors during August

Furniture and barbecues and outdoor plants were the big sellers during August (2015) according to our Barometer of Trade (BoT) results.

The results showed an increase of 30.62% in furniture and barbecue sales compared to the same month in 2014 with a Year to Date (YTD) change of 9.83% while sales in outdoor plants were 18.2% up with a YTD of 8.47%.

During August our member’s customers were out in force and making the most of any hints of good weather with the purchasing of furniture and barbecues. It’s great to see sales in outdoor plants were on the up too as people spent time in their gardens before the autumn.

For the month of August our overall garden centre performance was up by 12.65% compared to the same month last year. The YTD change was 6.8%.

Food Hall/Farm Shop sales were up 12.25% compared to August last year with a YTD change of 7.4%.

Mark Gilbert, Sales Director at Paradise Park in East Sussex, said: “The month of August was once again a month of very varied weather conditions that ultimately favoured the traditional gardener who could enjoy good soil conditions for plenty of extra planting. This was reflected in a 20% growth of outdoor plants sales compared to last year.

“Furniture and BBQ sales showed a good growth over August 2014 in spite of the varied weather conditions previously mentioned. Factors for this included a well-trained and informative sales team that converted a lower footfall for August 2015 into a higher sales figure than 2014, by targeting the right customers. Range also stayed solid and available through the month, helping to beat local competition that had sold off certain summer lines early and not re-stocked.”

Other categories which saw good sales were clothing at 7.74% and catering at 10.79% with YTD changes of 11.33% and 8.69%.

Houseplants sales were up 12.25% with a YTD of 9.27%.

Our BoT results are the only official trading figures to be released.

The reports are compiled using actual sales figures and provide an up-to-date trading position statement. They are made available mid-month following the end of the prior month after all member garden centres have submitted their results.

The BoT reports allow members to compare their trading positions with other centres.