Spending on Outdoor Spaces Still Elevated

Last year, CivicScience reported that Americans were planning to spend more time and money to get outdoors and cultivate their outdoor spaces compared to previous summers. These plans strongly corresponded with feelings of discomfort surrounding the pandemic.

As Americans are getting more comfortable with travel and public spaces this summer, CivicScience asked how people plan to spend money on their outdoor spaces compared to last year.

Among the 2,400 people with gardening space, a full two-thirds of respondents said they are spending about the same as last year. Those spending more slightly outnumbered those spending less.

CivicScience also asked 2,300 homeowners about their spending on their residential properties, which revealed an increase in spending on landscaping. While two-thirds of respondents said they are spending about the same as last year, those spending more outnumber those spending less by a margin of four percentage points.

Comfort with traveling also remains a strong indicator. Those comfortable with the idea of traveling immediately are the least likely to be spending more on gardening this year.

Unsurprisingly, those with a household income of $100K or more are the most likely to be spending more on landscaping and gardening this year.

But when it comes to landscaping and where people shop for related supplies, those who are favorable towards Lowe’s are more open to spending money on outdoor projects than Home Depot fans. The data indicate a difference of five percentage points between Lowe’s favorables who will be spending the same or more on their residential property (90%) and Home Depot favorables who say the same (85%).

CivicScience also analyzed marital status alongside spending on landscaping and gardens to reveal a correlation between people who say they are married and greater spending on landscaping. Individuals who are divorced or separated were the least likely to be spending more on landscaping, but this group tied married couples for first in spending more on gardening.

Overall, the trend of spending on gardens and residential landscaping may be plateauing slightly, but there’s no indication that it will fall back to pre-pandemic levels this year.