Merchandising Grow Lighting Effectively

Merchandising Grow Lighting Effectively

With the emergence of LED as a viable source for grow lighting, a whole new market segment is opening up for retailers. The worldwide market for LED grow lighting is approximately $3.6 Billion USD per year, and growing at an annual rate of 13 percent.  

Cannabis and commercial growing aside, LED lighting in the retail market is expanding as well. This market is being driven by consumers who want to grow their own herbs and greens year round, as well as get a head start on the spring planting season. Others have discovered the benefits of growing high energy plants, such as tomatoes and cannabis, year round.    

By encouraging the sale of grow lighting, and educating the consumer on how to grow year round, you are taking a traditionally seasonal revenue stream and making it last 12 months. Instead of only purchasing pots, seeds, soils, and nutrients for the spring planting season, customers will now need to purchase these supplies throughout the year.  

Here are some tips on how to merchandise grow lighting:

Set up a grow lighting display, so clients see the possibilities

By setting up a grow lighting display the consumer can see more than just pretty boxes hanging on a display shelf. They see plants growing, and imagine themselves growing their own vegetables, herbs, tomatoes, etc., indoors.

Make sure that you have healthy seasonal plants on the shelves at all times  

Most customers are visual and like to see a positive response to grow lighting. Pot the seasonal plants using all of the trays, pots and soils that you would normally use during that time of the year. Ensure each plant is healthy.  If the consumer sees dead or dying plants they assume the lights don’t work. Do not use a cactus or snake plant under the lights; they don’t help the client see themselves needing grow lights, and they defeat the purpose of the display.  

Some suggestions for specific times of the year:

• February to April – Plant seedlings (herbs, peppers, tomatoes, flowers, etc.) in trays and display them developing.  
• May to June – Have trays of bedding plants ready to go. This is what the consumer expects to see at this time of year, and now they can imagine the finished product ready to place in their own garden.  
• July to September – Have a variety of plants growing such as mature herbs, lettuce etc.
• October to January – Customers will be looking to start their greens and continuously grow them throughout the winter months.   

Train your staff

Train your floor staff on how to sell grow lighting. The staff need to know enough about each product to sound informed to a customer. As with selling anything in retail, the better trained your staff, the higher your sales will be. GrowTronics has a variety of sales and training materials available, so please contact us for details.  

Install infographics nearby

Infographics are a great way for customers to educate themselves, especially if there are no sales staff nearby. They explain, with images and simple terms, how easy grow lighting is to set up and use.

For example, as the chart below illustrates, you can show the customer a quick comparison as to why an LED grow light is better than fluorescent.