How to Prepare for National Gardening Week

The first week of June is a big one for nature lovers, specifically those that love trees, shrubs, plants and flowers. National Gardening Week kicks off June 1st, and gardeners everywhere will be celebrating. After patiently waiting all winter long, these green thumbs are excited to get back outside and start working on their gardens again.

As a business in the gardening space, it's up to you to connect with shoppers during this busy time to gain their trust, and their business. They'll be shopping for the tools, planters and soil they need to make their visions come to life, and you want to be the brand they think of first when shopping.

In this blog, we outline steps you can take in preparation for National Gardening Week to ensure your business is in tip top shape-ready to delight loyal customers and new shoppers alike. We cover:

• Trends to consider
• Planning ahead by forecasting demand
• Running time-sensitive promotions
• Maximizing visibility across channels
• Hosting in-store events to foster loyalty
• Building customer relationships
• Optimizing the checkout process

Trends to consider

In ordering new stock and putting together your displays, you'll want to consider trending themes and items. Highlighting certain products can have major impact in your stores, inspiring new ideas, shaping purchasing decisions and ultimately increasing sales.

That said, here are some of these trends to watch and consider as you prepare your stock for National Gardening Week:

• Eco-friendly and sustainable gardening: Demand is rising for organic soils, compostable pots and plastic-free materials
• Indoor gardening: Small-space dwellers are looking for indoor planters, grow lights and compact herb kits
• DIY landscaping: Customers are investing in garden decor, raised beds and other outdoor improvements as part of larger home upgrades

In letting trends influence your buying and merchandising decisions, don't forget to consider local trends, and those unique to your store. Think, if there's an influx of shoppers, what will your customers specifically be shopping for? This is where data comes in to help.

Planning ahead by forecasting demand

Gaining a deeper understanding of what customers are shopping for and when can help you avoid both overstocking and understocking. Last year's numbers are a great place to start. Find out, what sold well last Gardening Week? Were there bestsellers that ran out too fast? Did some items not move as expected? This information is critical going into a new season.

To identify patterns, look to your sales data from your POS. These insights can guide your buying strategy, staffing, merchandising and more for National Gardening Week and beyond.

With built-in reporting from Lightspeed POS, it's easy to track year-over-year performance, spot seasonal shifts and make informed choices based on real-time data. Plus, Lightspeed offers forecasting tools that predict future sales and even suggest order quantities.

Running time-sensitive promotions

Seasonal events like National Gardening Week are a perfect time to offer deals that encourage customers to shop sooner rather than later.

During this week, consider offering limited-time deals to drive urgency. Bundling products together at discounted rates can help increase sales-a seed or tool starter pack may do just the trick. Or, offer discounts on larger purchases for gardeners starting big projects, like raised beds or wheelbarrows.

The key is to create promotions that are relevant and valuable without disrupting your margins. Feel free to think beyond traditional sales, too. You can try early bird access for loyalty members only, gifts with each purchase, exclusive kits and more. And, don't forget to highlight these offers in your stores, on social media and on your website.

Maximizing visibility across channels

For many gardeners, the search for design inspiration, new plants and gardening tools starts online. That's why, even if you sell primarily through brick-and-mortar, having a strong digital presence is essential, especially in the lead up to increased shopping times like National Gardening Week.

Whether it's through social media, your website, email campaigns or elsewhere, it should be a priority to ensure that your online messaging is both consistent and compelling. You can start by updating your digital spaces for National Gardening Week with seasonal content; feature your most exciting products, spotlight promotions and provide helpful content like planting tips.

Tip: As a best practice outside of just National Gardening Week, refresh your homepage and product pages often with seasonal images and timely content. Feature your most popular items for spring and early summer, and ensure your site is easy to navigate.

On social media, use this time to share photos of your latest stock, behind-the-scenes looks at your team prepping for the season, and even customer gardens that use your products. All-in-all, you may be extra busy this week, but you can't neglect your online spaces and ecommerce shoppers.

Hosting in-store events to foster loyalty

In-store events are a great way to build excitement around National Gardening Week and create a memorable experience for customers. Hosting something relevant like a container planting demo or a class on composting can offer real value to customers while showing off your products and your team's expertise.

Events give people a reason to visit your store, stay longer and explore more of your products. Plus, they foster a sense of community that makes customers feel connected to your brand beyond transactions.

Building customer relationships

National Gardening Week is a great opportunity to reward your customers and make them feel valued. Loyalty programs are one way to do it, but even simple gestures, like personalized thank-you emails or early access to new stock, can go a long way in building customer relationships.

This time around, consider offering exclusive discounts or special perks for your most frequent shoppers. You might send them a preview of upcoming products, a small gift with purchase or an invitation to an in-store event. Whatever it may be, the goal is to make them feel truly appreciated, and give them a reason to keep giving you their business.

Optimizing the checkout process

As the temperatures rise and foot traffic picks up, you want to be sure your staff is prepared to deliver exceptional customer experiences. With lots of eager gardeners in your stores, you need your staff focused on helping them, not battling with the registers. This holds up your lines and leads to frustrated customers. That's where having the right POS system makes all the difference.

Lightspeed Retail is a premier choice POS and payments platform for garden retailers everywhere. Its fast, intuitive interface and embedded payments have led to "10x faster checkout times" and "5x shorter lines" for retailers like Urban Garden.

While the interface is simple to use and easy to learn, its capabilities are anything but basic. Lightspeed enables you to manage complex inventory with variants, gain deeper insights into your business performance and run multiple locations with ease. What's more, Lightspeed Scanner helps you optimize the checkout process even further with mobile point of sale.

Want to see how Lightspeed can help your garden center thrive this season? Talk to one of our retail experts to learn how our POS and payments platform can help you manage inventory, speed up checkout and boost customer loyalty-all while growing your business.