Why they buy

Earlier this year, our sister publication Lawn & Landscape conducted a national survey of American homeowners to find out in part what they think about landscaping and how they use landscape contractors. Use this market knowledge to sharpen your plant-buying message to the consumer, as well as ways to beef up your relationships with landscape contractor customers.

A third of American homeowners have done a major landscaping project (adding trees or new planting areas, replacing a lawn, etc.) in the last five years, and a quarter are planning one in the next two years. Key motivators for homeowners to spend on their landscaping are a sense of personal pride, the ability to enjoy the outside space and their belief that landscaping adds to the value of their home.

Two-thirds of homeowners say that compared to the inside of their home, it’s equally important that the outside of their home looks nice and is enjoyable to live in. About 14 percent say it’s more important. And when they compare their spending on lawn care, landscaping and hardscaping to other discretionary money, 60 percent of homeowners say investing in their landscape is just as important.

A full quarter of them say it’s more important.

Compiled from sister publication Lawn & Landscape’s Grow the Market report, published in March 2016.

www.lawnandlandscape.com

Willard Brown Digital conducted the survey between Feb. 1-10, and had a total of 765 completes, spread proportionally across the country. Respondents were adults who own their own homes and are the primary decision-maker when it comes to hiring a landscaper or lawn care operator.