With a marginal sales growth of 0.1 percent the gardening market in Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium audited by GfK achieved last year’s level in the first six months of 2016. The total sales volume was €4 billion. Robotic lawnmowers, natural garden chemical products as well as gas grills are the latest trends. These are GfK’s findings on the occasion of spoga+gafa, the international garden trade fair held in Cologne.

Sales in Germany rose by 4.4 percent compared with the first half of 2015, reaching €1.4 billion. The largest increase compared to the same period in the previous year was achieved in the Netherlands, with 9.6 percent. The total sales volume was €96.8 million. Sales in the remaining countries were stable or slightly down.

Sales in the area for powered gardening grew once again about 3.9 percent in the first half of 2016. In total, this market generated in Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium €1.6 billion. With an increase of 24.2 percent the Netherlands showed the strongest growth in the powered gardening segment. In Germany, sales in this area grew 10.7 percent, followed by Belgium with an increase in sales of 8.6 percent.

“Smart Gardening” and natural garden chemical products are the latest trend

There is growing consumer interest in new technology that makes gardening easier. As a result, the robotic lawnmower business is booming. The volume of sales grew by 37.2 percent in the first half of 2016. A total of €127 million were generated with robotic lawnmowers in Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium. With an increase in sales value of 92 percent compared with last year the Netherlands showed the strongest growth, followed by Germany with increased sales value of 41.5 percent.

Furthermore consumers are showing an increased interest in “smart gardening”. The share in sales of robotic lawnmowers being operated by smartphones reached around 50 percent in the first half of 2016. The share in sales of smart devices is highest in France, where it has already reached 62.4 percent.
Consumers are also placing more and more emphasis on the use of natural garden chemical products (such as fertilizers or soils). The percentage of these natural products in the total garden chemical market grew by 7.8 percent compared with the previous year’s period. The strongest growth in sales value was shown by France, with an increase of 16.2 percent, followed by the Netherlands, with sales up 12.1 percent compared with the same period last year.

Gas barbecues are becoming increasingly popular

As of this year, GfK is also looking at the barbecue and grill market (including gas or charcoal grilling devices) in Germany. The results show that the German barbecue and grill market is by far the largest market among the observed countries with a percentage share of 40 percent. In Germany just over 1 million barbecues and grills were sold in the first half of 2016. In Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium a total sales volume of €163.9 million was generated with gas barbecues. Thereby sales volume was 10 percent higher than for charcoal barbecues.

Please find an infographic of the results on our website

About the study

The data were collected by GfK through continuous samples in various different sales channels and then projected. The trade panel collects global data from more than 425,000 retail outlets. This goes beyond the product groups of all sectors to give a picture of the development of the market for various durable and non-durable consumer goods. In the garden sector, GfK records trading volumes in countries including Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium.

Additional information: Jenna Anna Rehm, Tel: +49 911 395 4677, jennaanna.rehm(at)gfk.com

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