Industry overview
What is shaping horticulture
Horticulture spans fruit, vegetables, flowers and plantation crops, with fast-moving prices and a high risk of post-harvest loss. Growers sell through mandis, traders and increasingly direct-to-buyer channels.
- Prices swing daily in mandi markets
- Post-harvest handling decides how much produce reaches buyers
- Organised retail and exporters set new quality standards
Client background
A plant nursery and gardening brand in Australasia, working in Sydney, Melbourne & Auckland. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- A plant nursery and gardening brand in Australasia
- Sector
- Horticulture
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Consumer panel, Online surveys, Social media marketing
Client challenge
Indoor plant sales had grown quickly, then flattened. The brand wanted to understand who bought plants, why some stopped, and what content would keep them engaged.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: understanding urban plant buyers for a nursery brand.
- Produce results that can be compared across groups and locations.
- Give the client evidence it can act on within 5 weeks.
Target audience
Scope: 1,200 plant buyers.
Audiences we typically reach in horticulture
Growers and orchard ownersCommission agents and tradersNurseriesFresh-produce retailersExporters and packhouses
Geographic coverage
Coverage: Sydney, Melbourne & Auckland. Markets: Australia and New Zealand. 1,200 plant buyers covered.
- Australia
- New Zealand
Research methodology
A structured quantitative design, so results could be compared across groups, locations and time.
- 1Brief
- 2Online survey
- 3Social listening
- 4Insight
We surveyed plant buyers through our consumer panel and analysed social media conversations about plant care. Questions explored motivations, plant deaths, care knowledge and preferred channels.
Consumer panelOnline surveysSocial media marketing
Sampling strategy
- Business respondents were screened on role, company size and involvement in the decision before being invited.
- Online respondents were drawn from verified panel members who matched the screening criteria, with quotas on key profile attributes.
Data collection
- The online survey was mobile-friendly and offered in respondents' languages.
Data quality & validation
- Digital fingerprinting and duplicate checks
- Attention, speed and straight-lining checks
- Review of open-ended answers
- Logic and range checks on the final data
- Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures
Data analysis
- Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
- Significance testing on the differences that mattered
Key findings
- Many buyers stopped after plants died and blamed themselves.
Helping customers succeed with the product created more repeat buying than discounts.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: helping customers succeed with the product created more repeat buying than discounts.
- Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: many buyers stopped after plants died and blamed themselves.
- Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.
Business impact
- The brand launched care guides, low-maintenance plant ranges and a WhatsApp help line, and refocused its social content on practical care tips.
What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.
Deliverables & next steps
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: how do growers choose which buyer to sell to?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.