Gardening in Western Europe

Delivery

This report comes in PPT.

Key Findings

Pandemic boosts gardening sales

Gardening saw a sales spike due to the pandemic in 2020, with consumers having plenty of time to spend on and in their gardens as well as disposable income spare to lavish on their green spaces due to very limited expenditure on social, leisure and travel activities. Growth slowed at a regional level in 2021, although it remained strong in some countries (Italy, Spain, UK), and positive overall, given restrictions were still in place going into the new year.

Peat-free compost ban upcoming in the UK

The UK is planning to ban peat in garden compost from 2024, and for nursery-grown plants by 2028. A ban on imported indoor and outdoor plants grown in compost is also likely, to ensure that the competitive situation is fair for domestic growers challenged by European rivals.

E-commerce likely to continue gaining share

Although home improvement and gardening stores will remain the dominant distribution channel for gardening over the forecast period, the convenience of home delivery and the opportunity to find competitive prices will encourage a growing audience to shop online more frequently. This is particularly true among the tech-savvy younger generations, who will gradually return to the busy, active lifestyles they led before COVID-19 and increasingly seek the convenience e-commerce offers.

Further positive growth expected in 2021-2026

In most Western Europe markets, growth over the forecast period will slow following the spikes in demand seen during the pandemic. However, Turkey and the UK will continue to record dynamic performances. While Turkey’s will be coming from a very low base, the UK could actually overtake Germany as the biggest market by the end of the 2021-2026 period.