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~ CheckOut2TheWorld ~

SELLING HOME &

GARDEN PRODUCTS

AROUND THE WORLD

ONLINE

Text: Sarah Jennings, Tarro Giannesi, Frank van den Berg // Photos: CheckOut 2 the World

The global market for home and garden products was valued at an estimated £230 billion in
2018. This is estimated to grow by 69% by 2023. We asked our panel of experts to give us their
tips and insights on the challenges and opportunities within this industry.

n the early days of e-commerce, no-one would have Garden & Pets sector were £72 billion and is expected to grow
thought of buying furniture or bulky homeware to £110 billion by 2023. There are bountiful options available to
Iand garden items online because the cost of ship- brands, manufacturers and retailers within the home and garden
ping would have been far too high. However, advances industry willing to take advantage of this growing market.
in shipping and logistics have reduced these costs to a
point where the choice and convenience of buying on- Sarah Jennings
line now outweighs the cost-savings of buying in-store. From a digital marketing perspective, the main challenge for
any brand with cross-border ambitions is to understand how the
As a result, in 2018 the global digital sales of Furniture and audience for your products and your category varies interna-
Homeware were £158 billion. This number is expected to grow tionally. On a basic level, internet site speeds, device usage and
to £266 billion by 2023, as online sales take a larger share of the languages vary by market, so ensuring your e-commerce and
overall market. This number includes sales of indoor furniture, related platforms are at least accessible in your target markets is
kitchen and bathroom accessories, textile furnishings, lamps and the bare minimum.
other interior decor. In the same year, online sales in the DIY,
But as a marketer, you also need to under-
£57.110m £61.824m stand how your audience searches for your
product in different markets. What search
£42.064.0m £60,000m terms do they use? What search behav-
iours do they exhibit? What platforms are
they using to find you? It’s not as simple
as taking your English keyword list and
TOP 5 TOP 5 £30,000m
INTERNATIONAL £12.337m INTERNATIONAL merely translating it and hoping for the
MARKETS FOR £6.232m £6.723m MARKETS FOR £3.553m £4.036m £4.052m £4.941m best. Consumers can search in very different
FURNITURE & DIY, GARDEN & ways around the world and the challenge for
HOMEWARE PETS digital marketers is to understand that.
Germany South Korea Japan United States China South Korea China United Kingdom Germany United States For homes and gardens, it’s important to

remember that home sizes vary around the
world, which in turn shapes how people

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