How to be more than just a garden centre
In today’s world, garden centres are seen as out-of-town department stores. They have the usual section for gardening products, but also furniture, pet supplies, gifts, toys, interior decor and more often than not, somewhere for a hot drink and a bite to eat too.
It’s a common trend for retail stores to expand their offering and diversify the product range, but when doing this, you need to be careful to ensure the quality of the store – or in this case, the garden centre – is not compromised.
So how can this be achieved?
Step 1 - don’t be afraid of a more diverse customer-base
Historically speaking, garden centres have been a location for the middle-aged or older generations. But interestingly in a recent survey, it was found that 54% of 18-24 year-olds said they would rather go to a garden centre than a nightclub. This means that the audience for garden centres is changing and we should be aiming to attract a much wider demographic than ever before.
So don’t be afraid to try something different – why not promote activities that will attract the younger generation, like a pottery painting class or an evening of tips and tricks for gardening on a budget.
You can also make your garden centre the place to be for a family day out, so it’s not just mum visiting to get what she needs for the garden, but the entire family of four. That way you have more customers who are going to browse all the products, buy drinks in the cafe and – if you’re able to offer a small children’s play area or an ice cream van during summer months – spend several hours on site.
Step 2 - identify what works best for you
Just because another garden centre has incorporated a pick-your-own field into their offering, or you’ve heard of a nearby site which now promotes bottomless brunch on a weekend, doesn’t mean these trends are necessarily right for you.
In order for your garden centre to be a success, you need to champion the things your customers love and expand in those areas. Achieving this can be simple – so long as you have the right tools in place to make these decisions – and you’re basing them on data, not just a whim or what another location is doing.
With a reliable EPOS system, you can easily view reporting across your garden centre sites, to get a clear view of where customers are spending the money and what might be working best. With this information, you can champion this area of your garden centre – bringing in local chefs if the food section is a hit with your consumers, or expanding your kids area if you find there’s a lot of demand for young families.
Remember data is your friend, and using it wisely can help you to know both who you need to target and what you need to target them with.
Step 3 - create an experience
The most important thing when you’re thinking about taking your garden centre to the next level, is not to do anything half-heartedly. Customers can tell if you don’t really care, so don’t try to do everything at once, take the information we’ve outlined above and expand little by little – but put all your efforts into each thing one at a time.
At CSY, we have a friendly, dedicated support team who are available to help 364 days a year with any questions you have – so take that leap of faith – become more than just a garden centre with the backing of our team behind you, and discover the difference it can make!
Ready to expand?
If any of these ideas sound like they might work for you, why wait to put them into action. Speak to a member of our team to find out what else you can do with your software here.