Survey sheds light on spending habits

What are consumer’s spending habits when it comes to professional lawn and landscape services? They may open their wallets more often for design/build services in the coming year, according to survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET).

The online, five-question survey asked consumers about spending on professional lawn and landscape services such as lawn care, landscape installation and maintenance, irrigation, design/build services, outdoor lighting, and holiday lighting and decor. It was conducted in February among 2,219 U.S. adults aged 18 years and older, of whom 1,830 have a lawn or landscape.

Results show 35 percent of those asked hired professionals to perform lawn and landscape services. Respondents who live in the South (38 percent) and West (40 percent) were more likely to hire a professional than those in the Midwest (29 percent.)

Overall consumer spending is expected to remain steady in most categories, the survey shows, with a slight increase in spending for landscape maintenance–mowing, edging, leaf cleanup and landscape design/installation.

The design/build category will see the biggest spending increase, responses indicate, with a potential for spending to double.

In the past year, the top five services purchased by consumers who have a lawn and landscape included:

• 18 percent on landscape maintenance/care
• 16 percent on lawn care
• 11 percent on tree care
• 7 percent on landscape services
• 5 percent on patio, deck, walkway or outdoor kitchen building

Check out the survey report to see how much was spent on other services.

When it came to hiring professional landscape help, men outpaced women over the past year (39 percent vs. 32 percent).

Younger adults, those aged 18 to 34 years, were the most likely of those asked to have hired professionals to build outdoor living spaces, patios and walkways over the past year (9 percent vs. 3 percent of those aged 35+).

“About a third of the Americans who have a lawn or landscape turn to professionals for help for a variety of reasons, some of which include that they don’t have the skills and ability or patience to do it themselves, and that they want a professional look,” said PLANET CEO Sabeena Hickman.  “We are pleased to help landscape industry companies bring the best knowledge and cutting-edge practices to their clients’ lawns and landscapes.”

PLANET members can access a version of the report with additional demographic data in the member center of PLANET’s website.