Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
While the pandemic has caused major disruptions, it’s also led to a boom in the lawn and garden industry, as consumers turned to outdoor spaces as places of sanctuary and spent money meant for travel and other activities on their homes and gardens instead.
Just in time for the outdoor season, spoga+gafa—the world’s largest garden and lifestyle trade fair and hosted by Koelnmesse—shares the lawn and garden and outdoor living trends for the year, which include airy outdoor furniture, smart garden appliances and comfortable outdoor kitchens.
Discover some of the organization’s key trends to follow for new lawn, garden and outdoor living products to set your inventory apart and meet new customer needs seamlessly.
Light and airy outdoor furniture. Moving away from traditional wicker and wrought iron, outdoor furniture this year will have a lighter, streamlined feel without frills. Color is still in, with bright blues, reds and oranges, along with fresh pastels, as the go-to choices for sunshades, pillows and pads. Outdoor sofas, armchairs and daybeds turn the outdoors into another living room for homeowners. Consumers will also be looking for outdoor furniture that’s literally airy, adding hanging chairs or Hollywood swings to their outdoor spaces as a place to relax with the air underneath their feet.
Smart gardening products. Smart technology has moved from our homes to our gardens. The standard robotic lawn mower receives an upgrade with additional features like self-cleaning and the ability to control the mower via an app. Automated irrigation systems have been around for several years, but newer versions allow for measurements of air and ground temperature and ground moisture, so homeowners can water with more efficiency and use less water and electricity. Garden products are also going green, offering environmentally friendly features such as being made of recyclable or sustainable materials.
Enhanced outdoor dining. This year, spoga+gafa sees more homeowners recreating the kitchen and dining spaces found inside their homes, putting together outdoor cooking spaces to enjoy time together al fresco. Outdoor kitchens are becoming more cozy and casual, offering both cooking and dining space. Homeowners are also looking for more functional outdoor dining furniture, including tables that extend for extra guests and narrower tables for balconies and smaller spaces.
With all these outdoor living trends, creative merchandising will be the key to selling, as it allows the customers to see and feel the products and also envision how those products could work in their own spaces.
Learn more about the 2022 spoga+gafa show, which has been scheduled for June 19-21, 2022.
