Over the last few years, the home and garden industry has seen an ecommerce renaissance, with many taking to the web to find their next favourite houseplant or piece of outdoor furniture.
In fact, between 2018 and 2022, the sector saw a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16% - nearly triple the CAGR for the entire retail industry over the same period.
Much of this success is down to the pandemic. With people across the world on lockdown, it became more important for them to cultivate their own outdoor spaces and gardens. But with some brick and mortar garden centres closed, and people being less willing to go shopping next to strangers, shoppers turned online for their home and garden needs.
But lockdowns are over now, and public outdoor spaces are thriving. With people returning to in person shopping, how can home and garden retailers nurture and maintain growth?
Provide an interactive and sensory experience
One of the most appealing aspects of visiting a brick and mortar garden centre is how those shops appeal to your senses.
They’re filled with gorgeous plants, greenery, simulated gardens with trickling water and lavish furniture… It's a relaxing experience. And that’s not by accident. Garden centres painstakingly organise their layout to achieve sensory marketing, and appeal to all of your senses.
Of course, that’s a bit more difficult to achieve through the internet. You can’t imitate the earthy, floral smells and natural sounds of a real garden centre. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still appeal to the senses.
Primarily, you can create a visual experience which aligns with your brand personality and creates a relaxing space for customers to shop in. Whether that’s through strategic use of colour, or videos and photography which takes the customer through a journey.
But one way of being particularly interactive with your customers is through the use of augmented reality (AR), or even virtual reality (VR). An integrated AR tool allows customers to visualise products in their own space, in real time, with accurate dimensions - and 61% of shoppers say they prefer retailers with this technology.
For home and garden retailers, this is especially helpful. Not everyone knows the exact size or look of certain types of houseplants or furniture, and an AR tool can help them decide whether your product fits into what they’re looking for.
Embrace and strengthen an omnichannel approach
Omnichannel is an approach which involves the seamless integration of all of your different channels, whether they’re offline or online. This can have huge benefits; omnichannel shoppers have a 30% higher lifetime value than those at single channel stores.
But for home and garden retailers, there’s even more of an opportunity to take advantage of. Many shoppers looking for plants and furniture will want to first see those products in person before buying, and an omnichannel experience lets them easily browse for what they need online, then see it in person to make sure it matches.
There’s a couple of stages to consider when developing an omnichannel experience. The first is, as we’ve discussed above, actually establishing those different channels in the first place.
It doesn’t have to be a binary approach of just an online website and a brick and mortar store. You can also experiment with marketplaces with home and garden sections, such as Amazon or John Lewis, and make those part of your omnichannel approach. This allows you to reach out to customers who might not have heard of your brand, and encourage them to shop directly with you in the future.
The second stage to an omnichannel approach is ensuring it’s seamless and integrated. It’s great to have multiple channels working independently, but if you put together a strategy for how those channels can interact and benefit each other, you can expand your growth even further.
For example, what if you buy a product online, and when you’re next in store the staff have a system showing your past orders - and they ask how you’re enjoying that product? That’s a great way of building a personal relationship with your customers.
Or, to encourage shoppers to go directly to your ecommerce store, you could send them a discount code when they purchase through a marketplace.
The possibilities are endless, and as shoppers become more open to omnichannel experiences, this is a great way for home and garden retailers to capitalise on that trend.
Develop an integrated marketing strategy
For any ecommerce business, a powerful marketing strategy is essential. You need to figure out exactly what your customers are looking for, and deploy tactics to bring them to your website.
That could be anything from emails, a clever use of social media, or a collection of informative and entertaining content which can be shared across multiple channels.
But one thing many ecommerce companies don’t take advantage of is the tech available out there which can make marketing so much easier. And it’s not just the tech itself - it’s how it’s integrated into your business.
For example, a customer relationship management (CRM) platform will help you easily monitor your customers and take good care of them. That’s great when used on its own. But combining that with a marketing automation solution, with seamless data integration, will enable you to convert even more customers.
It’s especially critical for home and garden retailers to get this right. A lot of new buyers might think: it’s just plants and garden supplies. What makes this place so special?
Because to someone who doesn’t know your company, the Monstera Deliciosa you sell isn’t going to look much different to the one your competitor sells. So make sure they’re clued into why your products are better. Are your pots great quality and handcrafted? Is your furniture designed to be easy to put together and made from sturdy materials? Get the word out there, and then take advantage of your integrated marketing tech stack to supercharge your growth.
Enter Patchworks
Whether you’re implementing AR, joining the dots between multiple different channels and marketplaces, or creating a strategic marketing tech stack, you’re going to need data integrations to ensure seamless connection.
That’s where Patchworks comes in. We’ve worked with dozens of home and garden retailers, helping them grow their business through diligent integrations.
With our no-code/low-code and self-serve platform, it’s never been easier for ecommerce businesses to take control of their own integrations. Whatever your level of expertise, you can browse our library of connectors and choose the tech that’s right for you.
For more information, get in touch for a free consultation and demo.
