Consumer Information

March 2017

Building a Better Retail Environment

Time is one of our most valuable commodities; we never seem to have enough of it. With so many things to do and not enough time to do them all, it seems our attention gets... more »

May 24, 2016

GrowIt! Releases Data Driven Insights

GrowIt! reports 90,000 people have used the mobile app this spring. Over the past year and half, plants on GrowIt! have amassed more than 1.2 million ratings, and searches have been performed by more than 160,000 community members. The... more »

March 2016

Aim for the Stars

By the end of 2015, Yelp had more than 95 million reviews. As a website founded in 2004 with the purpose "to connect people with great local businesses," Yelp now lists more than 2 million... more »

February 2016

Successful Social Media

One of the toughest things about social media for garden centers and other small retailers, aside from finding time, is getting your followers to engage, whether it be with shares, likes, comments or retweets.Especially on... more »

February 2016

Tech Tips for IGCs

Now that you are into the new year with your goals for 2016 in place, and you are preparing for spring, it is time for you to look at technology and how it can help... more »

January 2016

4 P’s Plus 3

To gain some insight into how today's consumers are behaving, where they are spending their discretionary income (or not spending), what categories and channels are gaining or losing market share, demographic shifts and impacts on... more »

January 2016

Hone in on the Healthy Homegrown Gardener

Homegrown is in full bloom across the country. According to GfK MRI's Survey of the American Consumer, 67 percent of the 80 million U.S. adults who garden plant vegetables, herbs, fruits or berries. And about... more »

January 2016

The Perceived Value of Branded Plants

What goes unseen goes unsold, and for transplants, a retailer's ability to grab the customer's attention is especially important to the first step of getting plants sold. Some research outside of the horticulture industry has... more »

May 5, 2015

PlantHaven Features Consumer Campaign for Kaleidoscope Abelia

PlantHaven International recently launched a national consumer ad campaign for Kaleidoscope Abelia. The company teamed up with BlueSkye Creative for the campaign, which features radio, video, print and social media. "Kaleidoscope has been a staple... more »

April 2015

Picking Up The Low- Hanging Fruit

When I begin to work with a client, the first thing I do is look for low-hanging fruit. What are the easy- to-pick-up profit dollars that are otherwise rotting on the vine? The fruit of... more »

April 2015

Rewarding Your Customers

From bonus bucks to steep discounts, shoppers want to know what's in it for them when they walk into a store. Products and services are important, but often they are hunting for an added incentive... more »

December 4, 2014

Pantone Marsala is 2015’s Color of the Year

Pantone chose PANTONE 18-1438 Marsala, a naturally robust and earthy wine red, as its color of the year for 2015. "While PANTONE 18-3224 Radiant Orchid, the captivating 2014 color of the year, encouraged creativity and... more »