Garden Centres Evolve: How to Grow Through Year-Round Retail Opportunities
Garden centres in the UK are no longer simply seasonal plant hubs — they’re evolving into full lifestyle destinations that appeal year-round. With strong sales in outdoor living, cafés, and non-gardening categories, the modern garden centre is capturing more footfall and higher spend. Here’s what’s driving the change — and how an effective EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) system can help you capitalise.
A Market in Growth
If you’ve been asking what’s new in garden centre retail, recent data provides a clear answer: growth and diversification. According to a May 2025 market update from the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), overall sales — including catering — were up +4% by value compared to May 2024, and the year-to-date figure stood at +12% versus both 2024 and 2023. hta.org.uk
Similarly, the Garden Centre Association (GCA) reported its May 2025 Barometer of Trade showing gifts up +10.1%, food hall/farm shop up +9.2%, and garden sundries up +8.95%, yielding a year-to-date increase of +9.49%. Insight DIY+1
These figures demonstrate a compelling shift: the garden centre market is not just surviving — it’s thriving beyond the spring rush. Outdoor-living categories, cafés, and experience-led retail are driving new customer behaviours.
Why Garden Centres Are Becoming Year-Round Destinations
From spring spikes to lifestyle destination
Traditionally, garden centres peaked in March to May for plants and bedding. Now though, categories like garden furniture, barbecues and outdoor games are tapping into social and lifestyle trends. The result: centres are attracting younger customers and being chosen for a full afternoon out, not simply a quick planting trip.
Growing café culture adds return visits
Cafés and restaurants within garden centres are proving highly influential in increasing dwell time and spend. With visitors staying longer, they’re more likely to add other purchases. These hospitality elements are now essential to the modern garden centre experience.
Non-gardening growth pulls in new audiences
Beyond the traditional planter and seed shopper, garden centres are attracting visitors looking for gifts, premium food, home-and-garden décor, and experiences. The GCA’s data shows strong gains in non-gardening categories — illustrating that the modern garden centre isn’t only about plants anymore. Gifts Today+1
How EPOS Helps Garden Centres Grow
To capitalise on these shifts, a reliable EPOS system is key. Here’s how it supports your operations:
Stock management
With a wide mix of perishables (plants), large-ticket items (garden furniture) and hospitality stock (food & drink), you need clear visibility. An EPOS system gives you real-time data on sales, stock-turn, and replenishment needs — helping you optimise space and cash flow.
Customer experience
A fast, smooth checkout process matters — especially when cafés and non-gardening categories are involved. EPOS systems reduce queue times, avoid under-charging, and ensure service efficiency, which encourages repeat visits.
Retail intelligence
Modern EPOS platforms offer analytics that go beyond the till-drawer. You can monitor category performance, track basket size changes, spot emerging trends (e.g., outdoor lighting, furniture) and personalise offers. That data helps you tailor ranges and marketing to meet evolving demand.
Choosing the Right EPOS for a Garden Centre
Not all EPOS systems are equally suited to garden centres. Here are the key features to look out for:
Offline capability – Many garden centres sit in rural or semi-rural locations with unreliable internet. Choose a system that continues to operate locally even if connectivity drops, then syncs when restored.
Mixed VAT handling – Garden centres often sell items with different VAT rules (for example edible plants or seeds). Your system must correctly apply the rates and avoid mispricing.
Omnichannel integration – If you have click-and-collect or e-commerce, your EPOS should tie together in-store and online sales. The same holds for multi-branch setups where stock and customer data need to work across sites.
Loyalty and promotions – A strong loyalty scheme linked to EPOS helps build recurring business. By tracking preferences and purchase history, you can launch tailored promotions (“new outdoor furniture offer”) to drive footfall all year.
Support during peak times – Garden centres have busy weekends and bank holidays. Make sure your EPOS supplier offers support during your most critical trading hours, not just standard office times.
Why CSY Retail Is the Partner for Garden Centres
At CSY Retail, we work with over 70 garden centres, including multi-branch groups such as the Blue Diamond Group. We’re also proud members of the GCA and HTA, giving us direct insight into market trends and horticultural retail standards.
Our EPOS system is built with the demands of garden-centre retail in mind: click-and-collect, offline capability, mixed VAT, loyalty schemes and e-commerce integration all supported. Plus, our help-desk is open from 8 am to 8 pm, 364 days a year — with only Christmas Day off, meaning we’re with you when it matters most.
Meta Title (under 65 characters):
Garden Centre Retail Trends 2025: Grow Trade with EPOS | CSY Retail
Meta Description (under 150 characters):
Discover key garden-centre retail trends for 2025 and how a modern EPOS system can help you grow trade all year-round.
Sources
Hot Spring, High Sales for UK Garden Centres — HTA, 18 June 2025 hta.org.uk
GCA Reports Another ‘Healthy’ Month For Garden Centres — Insight DIY / GCA, 20 June 2025 Insight DIY
UK: Hot July leads to increased business for garden centers — FloralDaily, 13 Aug 2025 FloralDaily
Positive growth for UK garden centres in 2024, reports GCA — AIPH / GCA, 23 Jan 2025 AIPH