June BoT shows garden centre members resilient despite challenging weather
Our members saw another month of highly variable weather conditions but proved resilient with overall sales increasing by +2.08% according to June’s Barometer of Trade (BoT) released today (July 20, 2026).
Despite a month marked by periods of cold, wet weather followed by extreme heat, the industry maintained positive growth, taking year-to-date performance to +1.23%.
Variable weather
Peter Burks, our CEO, says: “The industry had to endure another month of very variable weather but again demonstrated its great resilience by returning a small increase of +2.08% in sales compared to June 2025. Plants and gardening once again suffered with neither the cold and wet, or the extreme heat, really being conducive to sales.
“Fortunately, furniture and BBQs had another strong month, while catering and food again did well, ensuring that the figures weren’t too poor. However, it’s certainly a very challenging period for the shop floor as July has also recorded some very high temperatures and some areas have hosepipe bans too.”
Strongest performing
The strongest performing category during June was clothing, which increased by +11.13% when compared to June 2025. This was closely followed by seeds & bulbs, up +10.43%, and furniture & BBQs, which rose by +10.11%.
Catering also enjoyed a positive month, increasing by +6.51%, while food hall/farm shop sales were up +3.63% year-on-year. Another category recording growth was gifts, up +1.58%.
Gardening-related categories
Several gardening-related categories experienced declines during the month, reflecting the difficult weather conditions.
Outdoor plants fell by -0.79%, garden sundries was down -1.82% and houseplants -4.3%.
More significant reductions were seen in pets & aquatics, -4.37%, as well as hard landscaping -5.38%.