Green Industry Trends: Part 2
There’s an almost overwhelming amount of information to consider when it comes to understanding 2022 trends. We can look at green industry trends, garden design trends, marketing trends, and general consumer purchasing trends to try and interpret how, if,and when they will affect our businesses and what we can do to adapt. Below are more of the major themes we took away from some of the recent trend reports aimed at simplifying this data and applying it to our industry.
ESG Ratings are becoming more and more prevalent.
As consumers become increasingly environmentally and socially conscious, they want to know that the organizations they do business with share their values. ESG ratings, which are basically scores that measure how a company conducts itself when it comes to environmental, social, and self-governance issues, are becoming more and more prominent in all industries. We should keep this in mind when establishing our long-term strategies so we can implement policies and changes that help to improve our scores.
Tropicals and houseplants are still as hot as ever.
It’s impossible to go online and not see ads for internet plant shops that will deliver plants right to your door. Companies like The Sill, Lively Root, Léon & George, and Bloomscape, just to name a few, have revolutionized the experience of shopping for houseplants with the help of sleek, simple web design and the offer of convenience.
When asked what inspired them to take up gardening, the majority of today’s beginner gardeners say they want to lower stress levels and improve their mental health and wellbeing. Now that so many people are working from home, the lines between work and home life can become blurry, and there is undeniable evidence to show that bringing plants into your workspace helps lower anxiety.
There’s a subscription service for everything, including plants.
The subscription economy has been growing for the past several years, but, due to the pandemic, subscription services are more ubiquitous now than ever before. The cut flower industry, which is also trending right now, has taken full advantage of this phenomenon. You can find cut flower subscription services for almost any taste or budget. And companies like Horti offer (ingenious) monthly subscription kits that include plants, tools, and information on plant care.
Shoppertainment is a phenomenon that will probably only get more popular over the next few years.
As we all know by now, the pandemic triggered a massive upset in the labor force that we probably won’t fully understand for years to come. The Department of Labor recently announced that a record-breaking 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in November. Many of these workers are leaving their day jobs to pursue passion projects or launch startups that may not have seemed practical a few years ago. This new generation of entrepreneurs is being coined the “Creator Class”, and they are largely present on online platforms. Shoppertainment is a trend that has been likened to informercials for the mobile era. It’s a hybrid of entertainment and advertising and allows viewers to make in-app purchases directly from livestreams or videos, and it’s an increasingly effective way for the new class of entrepreneurs to reach their customers.
History has shown that some of humanity’s greatest achievements have been borne out of times of crisis. The light bulb, refrigeration, and the radio were all invented during the Long Depression of the 1800’s, and inventors of the 1930’s brought us the first working helicopter and the electric guitar. People are resilient, and we often discover what we’re really made of when faced with adversity. We started looking at 2022 trends to try and gain insight into our future and were inspired by what we learned. It seems clear that the challenges of the past few years have been a starting point for creating our next generation of innovators.
