I present to you the results of the survey on our consumer behavior in nurseries and consumer shops. It comes from Greece and Greek amateur gardeners.
It answers questions such as:
- How do we find out what nurseries and farm shops offer?
- What we buy over the Internet from the online shops of nurseries and agricultural shops
- What we buy when we visit nurseries and agricultural shops
- How we would like to be informed about what we can find in each nursery and agricultural store without having to visit it
The survey was conducted between 4 February 2021 and 13 February 2021 and was based on responses from questionnaire published on my.kalliergo.gr/en/ and on the KALLIERGO’s Facebook page.
No personal data were recorded during the survey, only the prefectures of Greece where the participants live.
The survey received 117 responses from 34 prefectures of the country.
Let’s see the results of the survey!
question 1:
Select County
Answers:
Distribution of participants alphabetically by county:
Prefecture of Attica, Athens: 20
Prefecture of Attica, East Attica: 13
Prefecture of Attica, Western Attica: 4
Prefecture of Attica, Piraeus: 3
Prefecture of Achaia: 3
Prefecture of Drama: 1
Prefecture of Dodecanese: 1
Prefecture of Evros: 3
Prefecture of Evia: 8
Prefecture of Elis: 1 Prefecture of Evia: 1
Prefecture of Heraklion: 5
Prefecture of Thessaloniki: 10
Prefecture of Ioannina: 2
Prefecture of Kavala: 2
Prefecture of Corfu: 1
Kozani Prefecture: 1
Prefecture of Korinthia: 4
Prefecture of Cyclades: 3
Prefecture of Laconia: 1
Prefecture of Lassithi: 2
Prefecture of Lesvos: 1
Prefecture of Magnesia: 4
Prefecture of Xanthi: 2
Prefecture of Pella: 1
Prefecture of Pieria: 1
Prefecture of Preveza: 1
Prefecture of Rodopi: 1
Prefecture of Serres: 2
Prefecture of Trikala: 2
Prefecture of Fokida: 1
Prefecture of Chalkidiki: 5
Prefecture of Chania: 4
section 1: Your relationship with nurseries and agricultural shops
This group of questions explores our relationship with nurseries and agricultural shops. For example, how we find out about what plants, trees, supplies, a nursery or agricultural shop has available. Whether it informs us in some way about what it has available. Whether we use their online stores to make online purchases. How many nurseries and agricultural stores we buy from.
question 2:
Do you buy plants and garden supplies from nurseries or agricultural stores?
Answers:
Yes: 116
No: 1
question 3:
How do you find out about what the nursery or grow shop you choose offers? (Check all that apply)
Answers:
Not informed: 6
I am only informed if I stop by: 59
I am only informed if I pass by or I am not informed: 2
I am only informed if I pass by or visit his FB page or other Social Media: 8
I only check in if I stop by or visit his Internet page: 10
I am only informed if I pass by or visit his page on the Internet or visit his FB page or other Social Media: 4
I am only informed if I go there or if they send me an email or message or if I visit their Internet page: 2
I visit his FB page or other Social Media: 8
I visit his Internet page: 9
I visit their Internet page OR I visit their FB page or other Social Media: 7
They email or text me: 1
They email or message me OR I visit their Internet page: 1
From the responses, we can see that the vast majority of nursery and grow shop customers do not know what they can find in these stores and businesses until they visit in person. They are only informed if they go to the shop or business themselves. This percentage can be as high as 77.78%.
A percentage of 41% also use the Internet (website or social media page of the nursery or agricultural shop) to find out about the plants and products that can be found in the nursery or agricultural shop that serves them.
question 4:
Would it be helpful if the nursery or grow shop informed you about what products they have without you having to visit them?
Answers:
The vast majority, (73.50%) responded that it would be very to very helpful if the nursery or agronomy shop could inform them about the plants and products it has without having to visit or before visiting.
17.10% responded that it would be helpful to them but they do not lack this information.
9.40% responded that it would not serve them if they had this information.
(5 corresponds to “Very much” and 1 to “Not at all”).
question 5:
How often do you visit the website or eshop of the nursery or agricultural store on the Internet?
Answers:
39.5% stated that they visit the nursery or agricultural store’s page or eshop very often or frequently.
A 29.90% said they visit it a few times.
A 30.80% said they rarely or almost never visit it.
(5 corresponds to “Very Often” and 1 to “Almost Never”).
Question 6:
Do you purchase small plants and vegetable seedlings through the eshop of a nursery or grow shop?
Answers:
Question asking whether they use the eshop of a nursery or horticultural shop. Specifically to buy small plants and vegetable seedlings.
The majority of responses indicate that no orders for small plants and seedlings are placed through the eshop.
People prefer to visit the nursery or agricultural shop and buy them directly.
As a friend said, especially in the countryside where everything is more easily accessible, it is quick and easy to go to the shop yourself.
(5 corresponds to: “Very Often” and 1 to “Never”).
question 7:
Do you purchase trees through the eshop of a nursery or nursery store?
Answers:
Question asking whether they use the eshop of a nursery or grow shop. Specifically to buy trees.
The majority of responses indicate that no orders for trees are placed through the eshop.
In fact, the responses indicate that consumers are even more reluctant to buy trees via the Internet than small plants and seedlings.
People prefer to visit the nursery or nursery shop to see and choose.
As a friend said, especially in the countryside where everything is more easily accessible, it is quick and easy to go to the store yourself.
(5 corresponds to “Very Often” and 1 to “Never”).
question 8:
Do you buy supplies (e.g. fertilizers, medicines, tools) from the eshop of a nursery or agricultural shop?
Answers:
Question asking whether they use the eshop of a nursery or agricultural shop. Specifically to buy supplies (fertilizers, medicines, tools, etc.).
In contrast to buying plants and trees over the Internet, we observe that more people have ordered supplies for the garden and crops through an online store.
This is certainly helped by the fact that the products are standardized so the consumer knows what to expect.
(5 corresponds to: “Very Often” and 1 to “Never”).
question 9:
Does the eshop of a nursery or agricultural store serve as a catalogue for you to see what you can find in it?
Answers:
86.10% of the respondents answered that it serves them very much to very much to have a nursery or agronomy shop eshop on the Internet. This is because while they are hesitant to use it for direct purchases, they find it very much useful as a catalogue.
That is, so that they can see what they can find at the nursery or agricultural store before they visit it.
(5 corresponds to ‘Very much’ and 1 to ‘Not at all’).
Question 10:
How many nurseries or agricultural stores do you usually buy from?
Answers:
We asked participants to tell us from how many nurseries or agricultural stores they usually shop for their garden. And the responses were very interesting.
We saw that most people shop at 2 or more stores.
Specifically, a 6.00% shop from only one nursery or horticultural store. The question does not specify if it is always the same.
41.00% shop from 2 stores.
27.40% from 3 shops.
23,90% from more than 3 nurseries and agricultural shops.
question 11:
Do you wish you could know what you can find at nurseries in your area without having to visit them one by one? E.g. which one has olives, which one has fruit trees, which one has palms, etc.
Answers:
Another interesting question with a very interesting finding.
How many times have we not been lucky enough to find nurseries or grow shops that carry the type of plants we are interested in. From trees we want to plant in the garden, to classes of smaller ornamental or productive plants.
It seems from the responses that people are very much in demand for such a facility. To be able to know which nursery or horticultural shop to go to in order to find what they are looking for.
84.60% of respondents said that they found it very useful to useful to be able to find out which nursery or agricultural shop has plants and trees like the ones they are looking for.
(5 corresponds to “It would be very useful” and 1 to “Indifferent”).
Section 2: What do you usually buy from nurseries and agricultural shops?
This group of questions explores what and how often we buy from nurseries and agricultural shops, regardless of how the sale is made. Either by visiting the store, or via the Internet.
question 12:
Flowers and ornamental plants
Answers:
65.90% buy flowers and ornamental plants very often to often.
The percentage who never or almost never buy flowers and ornamental plants is very low. Of the order of 18.00%.
I would characterize the responses as expected as flowers and ornamentals are usually low cost, easy to plant in the garden and often annual or biennial plants.
(5 corresponds to: “Very Often” and 1 to “Never”).
question 13:
Seedlings of vegetables and fruits to grow
Answers:
56.40% buy vegetable and fruit seedlings very often to often to grow them in their garden.
The percentage is lower for those who buy flowers and ornamental plants. This is to be expected as some use seeds to create the seedlings to plant and others simply do not grow.
The percentage of those who never or almost never buy seedlings is 27.30%.
(5 corresponds to: “Very Often” and 1 to “Never”).
question 14:
Trees (Ornamental, non-productive)
Answers:
This question asked how often we buy non-productive trees (e.g. ornamental) for the garden.
By their nature, trees do not lend themselves to frequent purchases. We buy a tree, plant it and it will be with us for many years.
The percentage of those who buy ornamental trees for the garden very often or frequently is 22.20%. Quite high considering the above.
The percentage of those who never or almost never buy ornamental trees is 53.00%.
The intermediate percentage of 24.80% is not at all respectable and shows us that we buy trees when we really need them.
(5 corresponds to: “Very Often” and 1 to “Never”).
Question 15:
Trees (Fruitful)
Answers:
For fruit-bearing, productive trees the situation is significantly different than for ornamental trees.
38.50% buy fruit trees very often to often.
The high percentage of 42.70% of those who state that they never or very rarely buy fruit trees is surprising.
(5 corresponds to “Very Often” and 1 to “Never”).
question 16:
Fencing plants (shrubs and trees)
Answers:
Regarding fencing plants (shrubs and trees), the high percentage of those who never or very rarely buy, reaching 55.50%, I would characterize as expected. Plants in this category are bought and kept for many years.
Considering the nature of the use of these plants, the percentage of 23.90% stating that they buy them very often to often is considered rather high.
(5 corresponds to “Very Often” and 1 to “Never”).
question 17:
Fertilizers
Answers:
Garden fertilizers belong to the category of supplies and are a consumable that is used every year to nourish plants, trees and crops.
It is therefore normal for them to have a high proportion in the frequency of purchase.
A percentage of 56.40% states that they buy fertilizers very often to quite often.
Together with the 19.70% who state that they buy them frequently, we reach 76.10% buying fertilizers regularly from nurseries and agricultural shops.
(5 corresponds to “Very Often” and 1 to “Never”).
question 18:
Bodies
Answers:
Soils seem to be the garden and potting mix that we seem to buy more often from nurseries and nursery shops.
The question did not specify whether it was packaged soil, big-bag soil or bulk soil.
An impressive 62.40% buy soil for their plants very often to quite often.
I imagine that this category also includes soil amendments.
(5 corresponds to: “Very Often” and 1 to “Never”).
question 19:
Pesticides, insecticides, fungicides
Answers:
Unfortunately, plants and trees are attacked by diseases, insects and fungi.
To deal with plant problems, we often resort to the use of chemical products.
This can be seen from the answers given. I should note that the question does not distinguish whether medicines are used on crops, ornamental plants, non-productive trees or fruit trees.
A percentage of 20.50% of the respondents very often procure medicines for their plants from nurseries and horticultural shops.
A percentage of 19.70% buys pesticides quite often.
However, the percentage of 39.30% who never or almost never buy pesticides is also significant. This category includes those who want to grow organically, without the use of chemicals.
(5 corresponds to “Very Often” and 1 to “Never”).
question 20:
Tools and equipment for the garden
Answers:
The answers to the question of whether we buy tools and equipment for the garden from nurseries and agricultural shops are also interesting.
One thing is for sure, we all use garden tools. Hand tools, power tools or gasoline-powered tools. From shovels, hoes and pruners to chainsaws, biotillers, tillers, spraying pruners, etc.
But also equipment such as watering hoses, composters, automatic watering systems, chairs and tables.
It is evident from the survey that we do not choose to make these purchases from nurseries and agricultural shops, as only 23.90 per cent buy such products very often or quite often from nurseries and agricultural shops.
An overwhelming majority of 76.10% choose to buy them elsewhere.
Possible reasons for this behaviour are:
- Many nurseries and agronomists do not sell such equipment. They specialize only in plants and trees.
- We do not find a wide range of products in nurseries and horticultural shops.
- We prefer to buy garden equipment and tools from specialized stores with a physical presence or through their online stores on the Internet.
(5 corresponds to ‘Very Often’ and 1 to ‘Never’).
question 21:
If you have any comments or want to add something, please do so here.
The survey, gave the opportunity for those who wanted to add a comment or observation.
7 fellow respondents chose to leave a comment.
And they are really very interesting and useful.
I quote them as they stand, indicating the county from which the response was given.
Answers:
“The endless listing of lists of trivia is very tedious to me. I would prefer a better grouping.
With regard to fruit trees, I would like information on origin, variety, rootstock, age. “
Prefecture
“incredibly annoying and unproductive the ignorance of the local nurserymen about their prospects and the ignorance of the supposed agronomists.”
Prefecture: Ilia
‘Iwould like a greater variety of cacti and succulents in Halkidiki‘
Prefecture: Halkidiki
“With each plant or flower etc. they could give the buyer some more information about the care they need and the cultivation techniques or the correct use of fertilizers, medicines etc.“
Prefecture: Larissa
“The nursery in my area doesn’t have a wide range of gardening tools and supplies and on the fb page they have, they only advertise wedding and christening decorations. Due to incarceration I can’t travel far and I don’t like to shop at online stores. I always shop in my physical presence.”
Prefecture
“To beuseful, a catalogue should indicate the main characteristics of the plants when they are perennials. Itwould be good to have certification
Prefecture: Kavala
“In the province it is very easy to go through the store and certainly more reliable!”
Prefecture: Chania
Tags: EQUIPMENT • FERTILIZER • FERTLIZERS • NURSERY SHOP • NURSERY SHOPS • NURSERY STORE • QUESTIONNAIRE • RESEARCH • SEEDLINGS • TREES
