Jan 14, 2021

Survey: 2020 Gardening Boost Led by Younger Homeowners

Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, younger homeowners brought a big business boost to garden centers during the spring and summer of 2020. All signs point to this age group continuing their interest in gardening this year.

These are the findings of the latest Axiom 2021 Gardening Insights Survey that took a look at how their experience stacked up against gardeners over 40.

While the majority of gardeners over 40 made the same number of visits to garden centers in 2020, younger gardeners say they visited more. For age groups 19-28 and 29-39, 57 percent said they visited garden centers more. They also spent more time in the garden in 2020 than their older counterparts.

For the 19-28 year old group, nearly 64 percent said they spent more time gardening in 2020. Just over 71 percent of those age 29-39 said they spent more time gardening in 2020. The majority of 40+ gardeners said they spent about the same in the garden.

This younger group felt very confident in their 2020 gardening activities. For those 19-28, nearly 90 percent said they felt successful or very successful with their 2020 garden.

For the 29-39 age group, that number jumps to 92%. The feeling of success is reflected in their plans for 2021. More than half of 19-28 year olds said they plan to plant more and expand their gardens in 2021. For those 29-39, 67 percent will be planting more than they did last spring.

“Younger gardeners are hooked, now we just need to make sure they stay interested,” says Kathleen Hennessy of Minneapolis-based Axiom Marketing. “Our survey offered some insight on their interests and how they get their information. For example, they share the older group’s passion for growing flowers and veggies, but indoor plants are more important to younger gardeners.”

Younger gardeners are far more likely to have plants in their workspace. For those age 19-28, nearly 65 percent have plants in their workspace, either at home or in an actual office building. For the 29-39 age group, that number jumps to 71 percent. Less than half of those age 40-55 have plants in their workspace.

Not surprisingly the younger groups said they would like to receive marketing messages via text. For those 19-28, more than 70 percent said maybe or yes. For the 29-39 group, nearly 72 percent said maybe or yes. Older gardeners overwhelmingly said they do not want to be contacted by text.

“This type of one-to-one communication with the younger gardener is a big opportunity,” adds Hennessy. “It’s a great way to build a community and grow your business.”

For more information on the Axiom 2021 Gardening Survey visit:  https://bit.ly/Axiom2021GardeningSurvey