You are not logged in.
Log in now.
Undercover
Published: 08 Oct, 2010
Garden retailers often question the virtues of covering the outdoor greenlife sales area. What are the reasons for doing this and what advantages does it bring?
John Russell writes:
The first, and perhaps most obvious, reason for installing cover is to provide all weather shopping for our customers.
There is no doubt that people do not like shopping out in the rain and the cold. So anything we can do to provide some protection and comfort has to work in our favour. Think of the alternative shopping environments our customers have to choose from – warm and dry shopping malls and precincts.
But it is not just in the cold and wet that covered retail is beneficial. One garden centre in Australia, where summer temperatures can reach the high 30’s, has recorded temperatures 10 degrees lower in the covered area than outside. So essentially it is about providing a pleasant, ambient, shopping environment all year round, whatever the outside conditions may be.
I was recently involved in the set-up of a garden department of a big box retail establishment. Only about one third of the outdoor sales area is covered. On opening day it rained all morning, and fined up in the afternoon. It was interesting to observe that during the wet morning 95% of sales came from the covered area. Once the rain stopped and the sun came out the situation changed dramatically – customers moved out into the uncovered area and the sales split shifted to about 50-50 between covered and uncovered retail. I can’t help but wonder how many sales opportunities were lost in the morning because customers did not want to venture out i
nto the rain?
A second compelling reason is that covered retail space provides flexibility and versatility in how the space is used. Now not just confined to tough and hardy outdoor greenlife, the space can now be used for more tender plants, indoor and conservatory plants, dry good, “add-ons”, pots and containers. This gives more efficiency in the use of space, plus provides opportunities for increased sales through linked product displays, cross merchandising, talks and demonstrations.
Thirdly, there are advantages to be gained in the overall health and condition of the plants. No longer subject to the vagaries of the weather – rain, hail, frost, wind, hot sun – plants thrive and survive. Plus the increased customer activity in the covered sales area means that stock turns over more quickly and markdowns and destroyals are reduced dramatically.
Covering your outdoor sales area doesn’t need to be costly. There is a range of options from horticultural polythene ‘crop cover’, to fully fledged glasshouses. Polythene covers come in a range of different shade levels and UV filters, plus there are shade covers and vents that can be operated manually or automatically.
Whichever option you choose to suit your situation, the investment will pay off in increased sales and customer numbers.
Contact us if you would like advice about the layout and design of your outdoor plantlife area. Our Premises Development Manual also offers advice and information about garden retail buildings, layout and design.
