Even though it’s only a few months out of the year, you have to think about Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween seasons all year round when you’re buying for a garden center or nursery. The easiest way to tackle this is to break tasks down, month by month so you can stay organized and prevent a last-minute rush to stock your shelves. Here’s a month-to-month guide to help you master your holiday merchandising for garden centers.
January
To make sure you have a clean slate and no leftover holiday décor, it’s a good idea to have a sale for the first three weeks after Christmas. For the first two weeks try offering seasonal décor at half price, then the last week offer 75% off. This should clear everything out so you can start fresh for next season. You should also start to think about what to carry next by attending America’s Mart and other Tradeshows.
February
While the Christmas Season is still fairly fresh in your mind, make note of what did and didn’t sell. If something flew off the shelf and was sold out well before Christmas, make sure you remember to order more of it for the next year. This is the time to think about ideas you want to carry on to the next season and themes or items you’d like to discontinue. If something that was new this year didn’t sell as well as you hoped, don’t be afraid to try it once more next season, with some tweaks and different placement it may end up selling.
March
Now that you know what you’d like to keep and throw away from last season, decide on specific themes and trends you’d like to use next season, like elegant, natural, or traditional with an edge. This is a great time to browse Pinterest for ideas and look through garden décor catalogs for potential items to purchase. Even try visiting your competition, everything from Pottery Barn to Home Depot could provide some great ideas.
April-June
This is the key time to make your final decisions and purchases to ensure your holiday merchandise arrives well in time for the season. Some companies will run specials during this time to encourage you to buy early. Make sure to buy holiday-specific décor, but plan to include some items that could work in the off-season as well, like holiday-colored frost-resistant pottery, lanterns, and picture frames.
2023 Holiday Lanterns, Planters, and Chimeneas
If you’re interested in The Pottery Patch holiday products, sign up for a wholesale account or contact us and we will email you our holiday pallet programs and prices. We release new holiday products every January and the deadline to order is generally the end of June. Also, ask one of our sales reps which of our products are frost-resistant and best for the winter months. Below are some of our 2023 holiday products.
July-September
Attend America’s Mart and other trade shows to get last-minute deals on holiday décor.
September/October
By this time you should start receiving your orders. As they come in, start planning how you will be decorating and where each product will be placed.
October/November
Time to kick it into high gear and start decorating! These months will be full of decorating and changing items out as each holiday approaches. To make things less stressful, it’s easy to blend Halloween décor into Thanksgiving for a seamless transition. During this time you also want to have Christmas decorations available for early buyers. The week of Thanksgiving is generally the big start of the season Christmas Rush. Make sure by this time you have fully made over your garden center for Christmas and leave a smaller area to put the rest of the fall décor on sale.
December
Sell sell sell! If anything isn’t selling, try putting it in a different setting where customers can imagine it fitting well at home.
Other Resources:
What Your Customers Should Consider When Purchasing Garden Planters
How to Empower Garden Center Customers to Make Better Purchasing Decisions
How to Empower Garden Center Customers to Make Better Purchasing Decisions
Good luck with your holiday merchandising this year! If you have any questions about seasonal pottery and lanterns, or general questions about holiday merchandising for garden centers, comment below or contact our sales team at sales@thepotterypatch.com.
