As an industry professional, you know all about plants. Heck, you even know how to pronounce their botanical names. You know what conditions they need in order to thrive, you know how tall they get, you know how to make them bloom, you know everything there is to know about how to make them look GOOD. But as a professional who deals with plants day in and day out, sometimes it’s easy to forget that many end consumers don’t have a CLUE as to what it is, how to take care of it or let alone pronounce the Latin name. As a producer of plants for the consumer market, you are producing a consumer product. For this consumer product, there is packaging, and an instruction manual. What is the packaging, and what is the instruction manual for this consumer product?
It’s a humble little thing called the plant tag. Giving the end consumer info about what to buy and how to take care of it, that’s the job of this little plastic wonder of the retail plant world.
So what information is MOST important to have on the plant label? Hort Printers always wants to know what consumers are thinking and how to make them happy, so we asked: *
Q: What’s the MOST important info you look for on a plant tag?
A: 18-40 year olds rank planting and watering instructions, respectively, as most important information on a plant tag.
Q: How important is a picture of the plant on the tag?
A: Having a picture of the plant on the tag earned the most #1 votes overall from 18 to 30 yr. olds
Q: How does technology play a role in consumers gathering knowledge on how to be successful with plants:
A: 40% of 18-30 yr. olds use their smartphone to research a plant purchase (at home AND in-store while shopping).
Using a search engine is the preferred method for all ages to access plant information using a smartphone.
48% of 18-40 yr. olds find answers to their plant care and maintenance questions on the internet using a computer. Only 9% said in-store employees.
Q: How confident are consumers about the topic of watering and fertilization?
A: Only 19% of 18-30 yr. olds and 17% of 31-40 year olds are fully confident that they understand how to water plants properly. Only 12% of 18-30 yr. olds and 15% of 31-40 yr. olds are fully confident that they understand how to fertilize plants properly.
Q: What do consumers do with the plant tags after they get home?
A: 56% of 18-30 yr. olds and 69% of 18-40 yr. olds save plant tags for future reference.
More than 65% of consumers who save their plant tags continue to reference them at least a couple of times per month.
So, a little Q&A for you, your business and your consumer product packaging strategy:
Q: Do plant tags play a critical role in your success in selling to end consumers?
A: Consumers say a resounding YES!!!
*Consumer research conducted by the Home Garden Panel (HGP); July of 2014
About the author: David Pratt is a Senior Account Executive at Horticultural Marketing & Printing. He serves both horticultural and commercial clients across the US. David has been with HMP for over 18 years. Prior to HMP, David worked in the retail nursery industry. One of his favorite plants, with or without a tag, is the Asparagus Fern. Easy to grow, and looks great for most of the year! You can reach David at hortprinters@integracolor.com