Outdoor Advertising leading gardeners up the path to purchase
With record numbers attending the annual Bloom Festival this year, gardening is very much back in vogue. Latest research from Bord Bia reveals that 1.3 million Irish people now garden on a regular basis. Last year, the Irish garden market was worth €729 million, an increase of 16% since 2014. Strong economic growth, a rise in demand for housing and population increases have all contributed to this upsurge in growth.
The BBQ equipment category grew by 35% with 60% of sales made up of those under 35. Consumers also don’t mind getting their hands dirty with outdoor and flowering plant sales growing by 33%. Furthermore, convenience is a growing trend with hanging baskets and pre-planted containers growing by 49%.
Ireland’s gardening enthusiasts, those who love to garden on a regular basis, are mainly female (69%) with 4 in 10 over 55 years of age. 25% are located in Dublin, while 34% live in ‘Rest of Leinster’.
It is projected that the next generation of gardeners will be younger and desire smaller, easy to maintain gardens. This is being influenced by cash rich, time poor consumers and rising urbanisation. According to the research, 44% of consumers surveyed mentioned time as their biggest barrier to gardening, particularly among younger cohorts (71%). Latest figures from the Central Statistics Office also reveal that 63% of Ireland’s population now live in urban areas.
Irish consumers tend to buy gardening products from a variety of retail locations with independent garden centres, DIY stores and supermarkets proving the most popular.
Outdoor advertising is a key medium for reaching this audience effectively and driving path to purchase. The latest Kantar Media study in the Republic of Ireland reports that 71% of gardeners have seen an outdoor ad in the past week. 22% go online to find out more about a product after seeing an outdoor ad. 58% of consumers who have bought a garden product in the past 12 months have purchased a product after seeing an outdoor ad.
