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Garden Trends Report sees a definite shift in consumer tastes

September 24, 2021  By Don Horne



The 2022 Garden Trends Report is out, and all signs point to a shift that has occurred in the green industry and customer tastes.

Opportunities for growers are there, states the report, as “Half of GenZ (53 per cent) and Millennial (49 per cent) shoppers want to cut back on their Amazon shopping… and all generations feel guilty about shopping there.”

Consumers are reportedly looking for plants to dress up their curb appeal, with front porches coming back into vogue. And the interest is reflected in 2021 social media mentions of ‘front yard’ or ‘front porch’ reaching a five-year high.

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Window boxes, planters and front yard trees all rate high in what consumers are looking to do with their gardening projects – and they must be low-care.

Getting “into the zone” for backyards allows targeting of specific needs, with kid zones benefitting from large, lush foliage for hide-and-seek games; privacy zones that usually include hedges and towering trees; and entertainment zones that can pop with bold plants, hanging baskets and tropical plants for a “staycation” feel.

The report also projects sustained demand and growth in the houseplant category, and to spur that demand requires announcements of new arrivals, a visual show of shipments coming off the truck as consumers are attracted to photos and video of new plants.

Strong messaging on reducing plastic should be included to reflect a shift to “greener” growing.

Nostalgia is now

The report cites many consumers are nostalgic for the ’70s (minus the bellbottom jeans), and that means a renewed love of pothos, ficus, spider plants, African violets and ferns… lots and lots of ferns.

The new report goes past ‘The Great Reset’ of 2021 and guides us through the customer mindset to better fit green products and services into this post-pandemic lifestyle. People are discovering more personal freedom – whether finding time to renovate spaces or transforming how they meet, learn, and stay connected.

And for new plant businesses that open in unusual places like shuttered restaurants or coffee shops, “it makes us feel better about shopping local,” the report points out.

Growers are urged to partner with microbusinesses in the community, like new local plant shops, that can be micro-influencers in the market, reinforcing the “shop local” mentality of consumers.

“This year we will see the world transition out of Crisis into Innovation,” state the authors of the report. “The 2022 Garden Trends Report peeks behind the curtain to reveal how customers define horticulture in 2022 and beyond.”

The 2022 Garden Trends Report Highlights include:

• Who the ‘Creator Class’ is and how to position your brand amongst them
• New ways to attract the Backyard Aficionado, the name of the 18.3 million new gardeners we obtained
• What products are “flying” off the shelves
• The colour of the year is BACK! Always fun, sometimes copied by Pantone… any guesses?

You can download the full report by clicking here.


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