There was a 12.26% rise in sales of Christmas products compared to September 2012, according to the Garden Centre Association (GCA) Barometer of Trade. Also, seed and bulb sales rose by 9.75%.

“We’ve noticed that a lot of people have started their Christmas preparations earlier, resulting in strong sales of festive products at our member garden centres,” stated Peter Burks, GCA chairman. “We believe this could be a result of the current economic climate, with more people choosing to spread the cost of Christmas out over a few months.”

Other sale rises were gifts, 7.96%, food hall/farm shop and clothing, 7.57%, and catering, 6.29%.

The current overall-year to-date figure is 3.23%.

The Millbrook Garden Company, a member of GCA, enjoyed a festive uplift. “Our Christmas product sales were particularly strong last month. I believe this is partly as a result of us launching the ranges earlier on in the season than we have done in previous years.” said Managing Director, Tammy Woodhouse. “This year, we also decided to expand our Christmas product range to give customers more choice and it seems as though this is already starting to pay off.”