ARTOFGARDENING
It’s May!
OR AS I LIKE TO CALL IT: “SHOWTIME”
BY ART VANDEN ENDEN FOR MANY SELLERS in the
10 or so years, however, the global health pandemic in 2020 really drove expansion and interest in this group. For e-commerce suppliers, your corrections are likely going to be much more difficult to fix in the short term. 1. Quite simply, you are being compared to Amazon. Your systems, reliability and ease of use must be top notch. 2. Your digital marketing, product photos and descriptions must be aligned with what the physical products will look like when delivered. Do not hide behind fine print and be honest. I have seen too many examples where online plant photos look appealing, but the actual product does not match. Avoid using digitally altered photos — there is an integrity difference between professional photography and AI- generated or modified images available online. 3. Delivery or pick up must be executed flawlessly. E-commerce consumers expect to have access to live tracking of orders, no different than Skip the Dishes or Amazon Prime.
Specialty suppliers provide a unique niche to garden product consumers both from the retail and wholesale perspective. Specialty suppliers could be native plant growers, imported pottery suppliers, Bonsai dealers, orchid or water plant suppliers, and so on. 1. Take some insights from traditional retailers: Invest in shopping carts or wagons; offer digital payment options; and make sure you have ample parking options for the influx of business that happens during a short intense season. 2. Track your sales by product type and size to learn which products and sizes are most popular. This information will be critical in your future business. At an entry level, you may not need to invest in a Point-of-Sale (POS) System. Just commit to keeping good records. 3. Do not be afraid to raise your prices! Your products tend to be so unique that price is not actually the most important part of the decision-making process for your customers. How far you can go on bumping prices will not be realized until customers choose not to purchase an item because of price.
horticultural industry across Canada, this is the peak season. To be cheeky, I might ask: why are you sitting around reading this column during the busiest time of the year? To that point, I am going to assume you are on a well-deserved break or taking a day off to recharge your batteries — both of which are essential if you want to be at your very best on the job during showtime . I strongly believe May is all about execution of your plan, so let’s focus on the immediate tasks you can and should be focusing on. This might result in a slight tweak or course correction to your plans for the next few weeks. Allow me to make a few simple suggestions for each type of supplier to the customer sector in our industry. When I use the term ‘supplier,’ I am referring to several different business models, including Independent Garden Centres (IGCs), wholesalers and re-wholesalers, specialty suppliers, e-commerce suppliers and growers for mass merchants. The newest member of the supplier group to consumers is the e-commerce supplier . This group had been emerging for the last
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