Effectiveness of Retail Promotions in the Green Industry by Age Group: A Case Study

In the horticulture industry, age has frequently been used to divide and quantify gardeners (National Gardening Association, 2013).  For instance, consumers over the age of 55 account for the majority of U.S. household lawn and garden retail sales and the number of gardeners in this group is increa...

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Main Authors: Hayk Khachatryan, Alicia Rihn
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries 2020-03-01
Series:EDIS
Online Access:https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/116037
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author Hayk Khachatryan
Alicia Rihn
author_facet Hayk Khachatryan
Alicia Rihn
author_sort Hayk Khachatryan
collection DOAJ
description In the horticulture industry, age has frequently been used to divide and quantify gardeners (National Gardening Association, 2013).  For instance, consumers over the age of 55 account for the majority of U.S. household lawn and garden retail sales and the number of gardeners in this group is increasing (National Gardening Association, 2013).  Interestingly, young consumers are also expressing interest in gardening.  In 2012, Millennials (born after 1980) spent 78% more on gardening purchases than in the previous 2 years.  Surprisingly, men are the driving force in this age group (with a 125% increase) who spent approximately $441 per household (in 2012) with most of the expenditures being on food producing/edible plants (i.e. fruit trees, berries, vegetables and herbs).  The local and ‘grow your own food’ movements are likely the main drivers of increased interest in edible and food producing plants (National Gardening Association, 2013).  To date, research addressing retail promotions in the green industry by age segments has not been adequately addressed.  Once differences and similarities by age group are identified, promotions can be designed to attract those groups.  Target marketing is a promotional strategy where consumers are segmented into homogenous groups with common needs that respond similarly to marketing stimuli (Belch & Belch, 2009).  Advantages of target marketing include streamlining promotional efforts, better market penetration, improved promotion efficiency, and stronger brand recognition. Many consumer characteristics can be used to create segments with one of the primary factors being demographic characteristics (Belch & Belch, 2009).  Specifically in the horticulture industry, young consumers have been of interest due to their increased spending power, low market penetration (in the horticulture industry), and potential to rejuvenate the industry (Rihn et al., 2011). For instance, in 2015 Millennial’s annual spending exceeded $600 billion and is projected to rise to $1.4 trillion in 2020 (Donnelly & Scaff, 2019).  Consequently, identifying how different age groups respond to in-store marketing efforts could aid in capturing additional market share and ultimately improve green industry performance and profitability. In this report, results from a study investigating in-store signage and plant tag information are shared.  Specifically, similarities and differences between younger and older consumers and their visual attention to point-of-sale (POS) information is explored.  Results provide a deeper understanding of how end consumers use POS information while determining their purchases in the retail center. Overall, this EDIS publication is intended to aid green industry growers, marketing intermediaries, and retailers as they design their in-store marketing materials. 
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spelling doaj-art-edbd3738b0074115b202643f4c4286cc2025-02-08T05:49:06ZengThe University of Florida George A. Smathers LibrariesEDIS2576-00092020-03-0120202Effectiveness of Retail Promotions in the Green Industry by Age Group: A Case StudyHayk KhachatryanAlicia Rihn In the horticulture industry, age has frequently been used to divide and quantify gardeners (National Gardening Association, 2013).  For instance, consumers over the age of 55 account for the majority of U.S. household lawn and garden retail sales and the number of gardeners in this group is increasing (National Gardening Association, 2013).  Interestingly, young consumers are also expressing interest in gardening.  In 2012, Millennials (born after 1980) spent 78% more on gardening purchases than in the previous 2 years.  Surprisingly, men are the driving force in this age group (with a 125% increase) who spent approximately $441 per household (in 2012) with most of the expenditures being on food producing/edible plants (i.e. fruit trees, berries, vegetables and herbs).  The local and ‘grow your own food’ movements are likely the main drivers of increased interest in edible and food producing plants (National Gardening Association, 2013).  To date, research addressing retail promotions in the green industry by age segments has not been adequately addressed.  Once differences and similarities by age group are identified, promotions can be designed to attract those groups.  Target marketing is a promotional strategy where consumers are segmented into homogenous groups with common needs that respond similarly to marketing stimuli (Belch & Belch, 2009).  Advantages of target marketing include streamlining promotional efforts, better market penetration, improved promotion efficiency, and stronger brand recognition. Many consumer characteristics can be used to create segments with one of the primary factors being demographic characteristics (Belch & Belch, 2009).  Specifically in the horticulture industry, young consumers have been of interest due to their increased spending power, low market penetration (in the horticulture industry), and potential to rejuvenate the industry (Rihn et al., 2011). For instance, in 2015 Millennial’s annual spending exceeded $600 billion and is projected to rise to $1.4 trillion in 2020 (Donnelly & Scaff, 2019).  Consequently, identifying how different age groups respond to in-store marketing efforts could aid in capturing additional market share and ultimately improve green industry performance and profitability. In this report, results from a study investigating in-store signage and plant tag information are shared.  Specifically, similarities and differences between younger and older consumers and their visual attention to point-of-sale (POS) information is explored.  Results provide a deeper understanding of how end consumers use POS information while determining their purchases in the retail center. Overall, this EDIS publication is intended to aid green industry growers, marketing intermediaries, and retailers as they design their in-store marketing materials.  https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/116037
spellingShingle Hayk Khachatryan
Alicia Rihn
Effectiveness of Retail Promotions in the Green Industry by Age Group: A Case Study
EDIS
title Effectiveness of Retail Promotions in the Green Industry by Age Group: A Case Study
title_full Effectiveness of Retail Promotions in the Green Industry by Age Group: A Case Study
title_fullStr Effectiveness of Retail Promotions in the Green Industry by Age Group: A Case Study
title_full_unstemmed Effectiveness of Retail Promotions in the Green Industry by Age Group: A Case Study
title_short Effectiveness of Retail Promotions in the Green Industry by Age Group: A Case Study
title_sort effectiveness of retail promotions in the green industry by age group a case study
url https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/116037
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