Monday, October 5, 2026
The garden market in 2025: a look back at the new distributor panel
The new retail panel, jointly developed by the French Federation of Garden Centers and Pet Shops and the French Federation of DIY Stores, provides a consolidated, monthly snapshot of the garden market. Supported by specialized partners (NielsenIQ, ECDB) and a common classification system developed by industry teams, this system aims to provide reliable and actionable data for retailers, suppliers, and public authorities. Here are the key findings for 2025.
Methodology and panel coverage
The central point of the system is the creation of a common nomenclature, allowing for a detailed comparison of sales between channels (garden centers, large DIY stores, large food retailers, e-commerce).
The sources used are:
- aggregated feedback from retailers for garden centers and DIY stores;
- GSA feed from the NielsenIQ Total Store Report (TSR) panel, adapted to integrate hypermarkets and supermarkets into the nomenclature;
- e-commerce data from ECDB, based in particular on payment flow analyses (CB, Mastercard, etc.) to track marketplaces and pure players;
- ongoing project with Ecomaison to cover the discount, currently a blind spot in the panel.
The scope currently covers approximately 1,900–2,000 garden center outlets (nearly 70% of the sector's retail space) and a very strong representation of DIY superstores (≈ 97.5%). In total, the panel monitors over 9,000 physical stores and provides monthly tracking by category.
Overall Market Size and Dynamics 2025
According to consolidated panel estimates, the garden market will reach approximately €8.5 billion in 2025, remaining broadly stable compared to 2024 (-0.3%). However, this stability masks contrasting trends across different distribution channels:
- garden centers: −2.3%;
- large DIY stores: −0.9%;
- Internet: outperformance compared to the overall market (notable growth, but below the national e-commerce average).
Focus by major product families
Vegetal
The plant sector is proving resilient and generally stable (+0%). Strong growth in cut flowers (+10%) is observed, driven mainly by large food retailers, but its impact on the total remains limited due to its small relative weight.
Garden maintenance
Maintenance sales declined by approximately 2%, a decrease largely explained by the contraction in power tool sales (-4.7%), which negatively impacted the entire department. A base effect also comes into play: the year-on-year variation is significant when benchmark performance is atypical.
Exterior landscaping and decoration
This segment grew by approximately 1%. Within this category, garden leisure activities performed well (+3.8%), driven by:
- outdoor items: +9%;
- garden furniture: +3%;
- Outdoor cooking (barbecue, etc.): stable (~0%).
Role of the internet channel
The internet plays a strategic role, particularly for bulky products or those requiring delivery: garden furniture, estimated at around €850 million, generates approximately 35% of its market online (≈ €300 million). The panel distinguishes between sales made via marketplaces/pure players (online channel) and "direct" sales made on retailers' websites (counted by DIY/garden centers).
Implications for stakeholders
- Physical stores: the robustness of plants is an asset, but the weakness of motorized tools suggests a review of offers, assortments and stock policies.
- E-commerce and marketplaces: the significant share in furniture confirms the importance of logistics and delivery capabilities, as well as targeted commercial operations.
- Federations and public authorities: having a consolidated panel strengthens the legitimacy of federations to carry out sectoral analyses and to engage in dialogue with public bodies.
Limitations and areas for improvement
The data presented are consolidated estimates from the panel. Some limitations remain: discount coverage is still partial and will require additional data via Ecomaison; certain variations may result from assortment or base effects, particularly in supermarkets. For detailed analyses, the monthly dashboards provided to members remain the primary source.
Conclusion
The distributor panel provides a more nuanced and responsive view of the garden market in France. While the overall 2025 figure shows relative stability, significant disparities exist between distribution channels and product categories: declining sales in certain physical segments, growth in e-commerce within logistics categories, and the resilience of the plant sector. These insights should inform strategies for product assortment, pricing, logistics, and sector representation.