There is
a general belief in the horticultural industry that garden plants sold through retail
outlets are undervalued and underpriced. Many avenues have been explored to discover the
truecost of plant establishment, care and final presentation at the point of sale, but in
most instances the final price is still an insufficient reflection of the real costs,
which in turn affects producers' and sellers' margins. |
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Various research projects, both formal and informal, have been undertaken to try to
understand what can be done to improve margins for growers and retailers alike. However,
there is no record of any research carried out to determine the key factors that influence
the consumer's decision-making process in purchasing garden plants, and their perception
of true value.
In order to assist the horticultural industry, and in particular growers and retails, the
Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), together with government agency ADAS Horticulture,
have funded a research project into these aspects. There is a secondary objective of
reviewing research carried out into the hardy plant retail sector of the industry since
the 1970's.
A number of marketing and research consultancies made submissions in response to the brief
from HTA and ADAS, and CCM were selected on the basis of previous research work we had
done in the horticultural sector, and on our ability to provide practical recommendations
arising from the findings.
The key elements of the research were Hall Tests and a number of consumer group
discussions, supported by Desk Research and discussions with a wide number of those
involved in the industry, especially growers and retailers.
This work clearly identified the disparity which exists between actual and perceived
garden plant value, and spelt out a wide variety of factors influencing purchasing
patterns. Arising from this project have been wide-ranging recommendations for the grower,
the retailer and the industry as a whole, and ideas have been generated covering a wide
variety of promotional areas.
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