Fertilisers & Chemicals sales helps Gardening market grow

10 November 2008
United Kingdom, DIY/ Gardening

The 2008 season proved to be a good one for fertilisers and chemicals. With plant growth promoted by consistent rainfall and reasonable temperatures, there was a real need for products which helped people maintain and care for their gardens. Key among this side of the gardening market were weedkillers, where a wave of products and accompanying advertising led to value growth of 19.9% in Jan- Sep 08, compared to the same nine months in 2007. Total sales stand at £48,143 so far in 2008.

Sitting alongside weedkillers in the chemicals category are pest & disease products. Over the previous two years rodenticides and slug killers have led the way, with sales spurred on by weather conditions (floods in 07 and consistent rain in 08) and perhaps also influenced by fortnightly bin collections in the case of the former product area. Overall the pest & disease category is up 1.8% in the year to September, with rodenticides up 18.1% and slug killers up 9.3%.

The lawn care sector also evidenced growth with sales reaching £29.9m in the first nine months of 2008 (up 8.3% year on year). Following the same trend, but at a lower growth rate, was Plant Food which grew by 3.5% to £32.2m.

Comparing these figures to other areas of gardening puts these performances in context. The impact of the weather can be most clearly seen in garden leisure, a sector which saw sales fall 22.6% in the Sheds and in which sales of garden furniture declined 26.4% in those same retailers. 

Looking forward to 2009, overall sales levels will again be somewhat dependant on weather conditions, but the weedkiller market has shown that effective New Product Development and advertising can grow a category in what was a challenging year for many within gardening. Running in tandem with this is the environmental theme and the prospect of augmented sales for green products, but this has to be balanced against the wider economic environment. A point to watch in 2009 is whether consumers will be prepared to pay more for greener products given the pressure on household budgets.

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GfK Retail and Technology, www.gfkrt.com

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