Enjoying the Outdoors at Home This Year

What a year this has been, navigating through all the COVID-19 restrictions, quarantines, and social distancing. Recent studies point to an increase in consumer spending on outdoor home improvements and amenities. Swimming pools, hot tubs, fire tables, bicycles, and even outdoor furniture was difficult to locate by mid-summer as a result of the increased interest in these items. As we found ourselves ‘sheltering-in-place’, landscaping, decks, patios, and general outdoor improvements have all seen an increase in activity this summer.

As pandemic restrictions loosened a bit in the spring, outdoor gatherings with family and friends became one of the only social events deemed acceptable.

Manufacturers of lawn care materials boast an uptick in sales revenues directly related to the pandemic.

Recent statistics:

1. American adults are spending an average of two hours a day outside during the COVID-19 outbreak. Nearly half say they are spending more time outside now than they did before the outbreak began.
2. On average, those who are currently gardening or caring for their lawn are spending four hours a week doing so.
3. Gardening interests have increased not only due to the obvious restrictions, but also consumers’ increased desire to access fresh vegetables and reduce trips to the grocery stores.
4. Scott’s family of lawn products has reported company-wide revenue growth of more than 30 percent through the third quarter of 2020.