Shopping Habits of 2022

By Danny Summers

ATTENTION: You have an assignment!

As I share this message with you this week, Tim Quebedeaux is finalizing our Mid-Year Weekly Department Review (WDR) and this is always an exciting time to see how the balance of sale by-category (department) compares to previous years. While we have the Year-to-Date tracking each week for what we call "The Big Three"... Sales, Average Sale, and Transaction Count, we can only see sales (and margin) by category for each particular week. As we wait eagerly on the Mid-Year WDR details, there is something I would like for you to consider.

Setting the stage for my challenge this week for each Center, let me first provide a refresher that we all know well from the previous two years and compared against our YTD numbers from Week 26. (Note: These figures are comparing the WDR – Week 26 for 2020, 2021 and 2022.)

                           2020      2021      2022
Sales               +29.2%  +19.0%    -5.7%
Avg Sale         +12.8%. + 8.6%.    +8.0%
Trans Cnts      +15.3%. +13.9%   -12.5%

In 2020, most all Group Centers were reporting seeing many new faces... as much as +25%. This supports the 2020 Transaction Counts overall increase of +19.0%. As you struggled through new protocols in checkouts, spacing, and staffing challenges, many of the new guests were served without collecting their contact information.

For 2021 one common concern was... Would all those new guests return, since you didn't have consistent ways to connect with them? And as we know, looking at the 2021 numbers we can answer that question with a confident YES. Transaction Counts gained again by +5.9%

Fast forward to Spring 2022 and now to Week 26. With Transaction Counts being down -12.5% from 2021, this sets the stage for my challenge for you...

1. Can your POS identify the majority of guests who shopped at your Center in 2020 and 2021?
2. Did those guests from 2020 and 2021 come again in 2022?

If you confidently answer the two above questions, look for the quick poll link below. We have had considerable discussions about the increased attraction to plants and gardening in the previous two years. But with the opportunity to do other things this year such as travel, large sporting events, and other activities, have we missed seeing some guests (both new and old) altogether?

• Gather information with which to connect to these customers who have shopped this Spring.
• Connect with all the customers the rest of the year with relevance such as to the idea of staycation and maybe improving their air-conditioned home and workplace environments with plants?

If we look at an aggregate of both 2020 and 2021, we gained +24.9% in Transaction Counts over 2019. Now, we slipped -12.5% YTD, roughly half of our previous gains. This leads to the question I have been thinking about the last few weeks as we watch YTD results coming together.

Thanks for exploring these questions with me and for responding to this Week 28 Quick Poll HERE. (Scroll down to the Poll Link in the Blog. You can see the results so be sure to come back later in the week to see what the majority reported.)

Thanks for exploring these questions with me and for responding to this Week 28 Quick Poll HERE. (You can see the results so be sure to return to see what the majority reported.)

And now let's talk about your plans for The Fall Event 2022. Have you made your hotel reservations? Be sure to arrive on or before Sunday to allow time for seeing some of Kansas City's amazing sites. You can see details on our Best of Kansas City page HERE.

We hope to see you in Kansas City, September 19-22, 2022 where we'll be exploring Beyond the Boundaries of Garden Retailing. The Fall Event is all about sharing, learning, and growing. No matter how long you’ve been in retail or what position you hold in your company, there’s still something to learn. It's a Can't-Miss event! For program details, registration, and hotel information CLICK HERE. And watch for more program details of The Fall Event 2002 each week.