Garden and zoo retailers report significant decline in first quarter

Garden and zoo retailers in Germany closed the first quarter of 2025 with a high single-digit decline in sales. In nominal terms, industry sales were 6.1 percent below the corresponding level of the previous year, and 7.8 percent lower in real terms. All three months saw a decline in the preliminary change rates published by the Statistisches Bundesamt (Federal Statistical Office): real terms -1.8 percent in January, -10.3 percent in February and -9.6 percent in March, in each case compared with the same month of the previous year.

The German Statistical Office does not currently publish separate figures for the gardening sector. The results quoted here refer to retail sales of flowers, plants, seeds, fertilisers, zoological supplies and live animals.