Catering sales lead latest HTA figures
Garden centre cafés and restaurants reported a 4% increase in transaction numbers.
The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) has released its latest monthly market update, which shows a slowdown in sales reflecting the challenging trading environment for the sector. Garden centre sales in October 2024 were down by 6% compared to October 2023.
The silver lining is that once you exclude catering, this figure sits at -9%. While October is traditionally a smaller month in the annual garden centre calendar, contributing approximately 7% of total sales, this year shows significant variation among retailers, influenced by the timing of Christmas department openings and clearance of garden furniture stocks.
'An important time of year'
Fran Barnes, chief executive of the HTA, said: “This is an important time of year for our garden centres and we are encouraged to see that Christmas sales began strongly, up 5% on October 2023. Fragile consumer confidence, which dipped by -1 point from September to October, may be encouraging earlier festive spending to spread the cost.
“Additionally, garden centre cafés and restaurants reported a 4% increase in transaction numbers compared to October 2023. This performance will provide critical cashflow to support businesses through the quieter winter months ahead of the 2025 gardening season.”
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