A positive occupation

Pest control is a recognised product category for garden centres and the garden departments of DIY stores. Taken together with fertilizers and soils, their share of sales amounts to just under nine per cent in Germany, for example. But it is possible that not everyone is aware that they are what motivates many customers to visit a DIY store or garden centre in the first place. A survey by market leader Scotts brings greater clarity to this question. In Germany and Austria more than 60 per cent of customers come into a store to buy a plant protection product. Comparative data were collected in France and the United Kingdom as well. But the survey also uncovers weaknesses in product presentation, which in the worst case can lead to customers leaving the store again minus any purchase but still with an unsatisfied need. More than 1 400 customers were questioned both before and after their visit to a store, and also observed during their visit; 300 were filmed as well. It turned out that the differences in the countries under consideration are not so big after all – which is remarkable because there are different regulations in the individual countries concerning over-the-counter sales, and a self-service system that exists in this form in Germany alone. Something that was equally pronounced in all countries: customers mainly appeared satisfied or happy when they were busy looking at fertilizers and pesticides. This is also confirmed by a facial expression analysis of those interviewees who were filmed. Shoppers have rather positive associations with pest control products, not a bad conscience as might be expected. “People feel good about what they are doing because they expect a result,” is how Wolfgang Petry, marketing director for central Europe, sums up the survey analysis. “They are looking for a solution to their problem, and that is a positive occupation.” Clearly they have a great need for information, for they spend more than two minutes in front of the pesticide and fertilizer shelves – 135 seconds on average, 118 in the United Kingdom, 119 in Germany and 160 in France. That is a long time in retailing. This long time spent in front of the shelves also makes clear the problem inherent in this product category: customers are confused by the great range of difficult to compare pest control products – and tend to react by refusing to buy anything. For in Germany and Austria 40 per cent of all visitors interested in the pesticide shelves leave the store…