Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Lawn and garden care shows no sign of slowing down as a popular hobby, and it is Lawn and garden care shows no sign of slowing down as a popular hobby, and it is also a crucial part of home maintenance. As we head into 2024, consider these six trends among retail sales and the customer base for lawn and garden products, according to data from the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI).
About Dave King
Dave King joined the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) as executive director in 2022. King has spent the past 25 years in the strategy, research and advanced analytics space. The last 10 years he has focused solely on the home improvement industry. HIRI’s insights are hyper-focused on the contractor and homeowner trends most impactful to the home improvement industry.
Per Project Spend Is Trending Up
Based on findings from HIRI’s 2022 Retail Selector Study, the median spend for just lawn and garden products was $120 during a single-purchase occasion. More recent data from HIRI’s Quarterly Home Improvement Project Activity Tracker shows the median spend on lawn and garden in Q2 2023 was $300 with planned spend increasing to $450 for Q3 2023. Actual spend data will be released in November 2023 in the Q3 update of this HIRI study.
Online Retailers Are Stealing Market Share
Home centers held 72% of the lawn and garden market share in 2014 compared to 63% in 2022. Exclusively online retailers account for a portion of this shift, taking 11% of the market share in 2022, compared to the 7% they held less than a decade earlier in 2014. Warehouse clubs have taken an additional 3% of the market share as well.
Customers Are Hitting More Stores
The percentage of customers who shop at two or more places for lawn and garden products has risen since 2014 from 22% to 36%. In 2022, only 64% of customers were making all of their purchases for a given project from one retailer. A desire for wider product selection is the top reason for cross-retailer shopping.
Product Variety Drives Retailer Selection
In 2014, fewer than 1 in 10 customers cared most about the product selection when choosing their retailer. Now, 25% customers make retailer selections based on product selection factors. The reslicing of the market share pie since 2018 has largely been a result of customers seeking variety in product options over previous purchase preferences such as familiarity, convenience and price.
Emotional Over Practical Motivates Buyers
According to findings in HIRI’s Product Decision Study, psychological benefits are factors when homeowners decide to do gardening and landscaping. In 2021, top motivations included the satisfaction from a job well done, enjoyment of working on the house, wanting to update the house’s look and even a bit of social pressure to “keep up with the Joneses.”
Customers Skew Older
Q2 2023 data from HIRI’s Quarterly Home Improvement Project Activity Tracker shows older homeowners completed more projects than younger homeowners, and those with a household income of $100,000 to $159,000 completed more projects than other demographics. HIRI’s Product Decision Study corroborates that 2 in 3 homeowners are 55 years and older and project doers are more likely to plan to stay in the home forever (48% vs. 40% for any project).
