Garden furniture continues to account for the largest share in terms of value mix, although the proportionate share of garden furniture has marginally declined in recent years, given growth in accessories and barbecues. This has been driven by the affordability of accessories, on the one hand, but also by product improvements and innovations in barbecues which have been focused on better performance, ease of use and versatility.
"The barbecue market in 2016 was characterised by an element of trading up to more sophisticated models within each fuel sector, but also the continuation of the trend for replacing charcoal with gas," comments Jane Tarver of AMA Research.The barbecue accessories sector includes barbecue fuel, domestic outdoor heaters and other accessories such as tools, covers, cooking utensils, replacement parts, etc. The sector is dominated by fuel, which is estimated to account for over 60 per cent value share.
Distribution of garden leisure products is centred on the DIY multiples channel with share estimated at 44 per cent in 2016. However, the growth of Internet sales has been a key characteristic of the market in recent years.
Growth in the domestic garden leisure market is forecast to slow from 2016 to 2017 onwards, with annual growth rates of three to four per cent currently forecast to 2021.
The issue of increasing import prices is likely to be a key feature of the domestic garden leisure market into the medium term due to the high levels of import penetration and this may result in a swing back towards cheaper replacement products for garden furniture, barbecues and accessories.
However, the key determinant for the garden leisure market remains the British weather, which can lead to wide annual variations in performance.