Rapid urbanisation and its impact on the garden furniture market

Rapid urbanisation is increasing the number of larger and more crowded urban centres in Europe. This trend is shaping new developments and generating demand for garden furniture. At the moment, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas. The United Nations expects this figure to grow to 68% by 2050. Will there still be space for gardens? And how will this impact the demand for garden furniture in Europe?

Create a garden inside the home

In Europe, one of the developments related to this trend involves consumers creating a garden inside their homes. They put plants all over their homes and on their balconies. Consumers are also recreating the feel of a garden and nature in general by using floral patterns and earthy, natural tones in their home textiles, accessories and furniture. Garden furniture made of natural materials, highlighting the textures of natural fibres, and the use of natural patterns and tones, can help urban consumers experience the so-called inside garden. 

Making communal gardens foolproof

Another result of urbanisation is that housing prices are rising. This is due to the increased shortage of space within urban centres. To deal with this, forms of shared living are being created, including communal gardens. Urban planners are trying to redesign spaces to make them future proof and capture a sense of nature. This increasingly involves communal garden concepts on rooftops and around buildings, for example.

Garden furniture for communal spaces needs to be functional, durable and foolproof. People seem to treat communal property with less care than individual possessions. This makes the garden furniture more price-sensitive, as it may need replacing frequently. As shared gardens are usually small, garden furniture needs to be compact, easy to carry around and put away, and multi-functional.

Growing demand

The rapid urbanisation trend is creating new opportunities, developments and increasing demand for garden furniture. The European market imported €1.9 billion in garden furniture in 2018 and has an annual growth of 4.3%. With urbanisation increasing, the demand for garden furniture will grow even more.

Read our recently published study about the European market for garden furniture to find out more about which segments and trends offer opportunities. The study also looks at the legal and non-legal requirements in the sector.

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This news article was written for CBI by Globally Cool.