HTA | Industry Data

Introduction

The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) is expanding how UK garden retailers can measure their sales performance, giving member garden centres access to a new benchmarking platform. The Garden Retail Monitor (GRM) automatically pulls live sales data from each shop's till system, so retailers can see how their trade stacks up against regional and national averages.

What This Means for UK Gardeners

For most home gardeners the workings of the trade stay behind the scenes, but tools like the GRM can quietly shape what ends up on the shelves at your local garden centre. When retailers can compare their weekly plant, compost and furniture sales against anonymised averages from across the country, they get a clearer read on which plants are flying out elsewhere and which are gathering dust on the benches. The result, in theory, is a better-stocked shop, fewer dead-headed bargain benches in July, and stock lists that more closely reflect what UK gardeners are actually buying.

It also helps smaller independent centres stay competitive with the big chains. A family-run nursery in Cumbria or Kent can now look at what a comparable-sized centre in Surrey sold in the same week and adjust its plant orders accordingly — fewer leftover Brussels sprout plants in May, more drought-tolerant perennials if the regional data points that way.

Key Points

• The HTA Garden Retail Monitor is an online benchmarking tool available to HTA member retailers across the UK.
• Sales data is uploaded automatically and securely from each garden centre's EPOS (electronic point-of-sale) system.
• Retailers can compare their performance against regional and national averages in regular reports.
• The platform is designed to help members spot trends quickly and fine-tune stock orders throughout the season.
• Better benchmarking ultimately feeds through into the plant ranges and prices shoppers see on the ground.

Further Reading

For more on how UK retailers and growers plan their stock for the home gardener, see GardenWizz's seasonal planting guides and plant variety pages.

Source: https://hta.org.uk/news-events-current-issues/industry-data