4 Bright Growth Areas for Power Lawn & Garden Equipment

The outlook is bright for the $23 billion global power lawn and garden equipment market. After a tepid performance over the past decade – restrained by the global financial crisis and a sluggish recovery – healthy annual growth is expected through 2023, with especially strong gains anticipated for lawn mowers (the largest segment) and chainsaws (the fastest growing).

A strong global economy isn’t the only reason for the industry’s improved prospects. And conflicts such as the US-China trade war may ultimately undermine key markets if they persist. The Freedonia Group’s new Global Power Lawn & Garden Equipment study analyzes major trends affecting markets at the global, regional, and national levels. Following are four particularly promising growth areas to watch.

1. In Mature Markets, Mature Demographics Are Using More Professional Landscapers

The value of power lawn and garden equipment sales depends largely on the end user. For example:

• Commercial end users such as professional landscapers tend to employ higher-value products that will last longer and make jobs more efficient.
• DIY residential end users are often more price sensitive and use the equipment they buy less intensively, which translates to lower sales values.

While residential sales are more concentrated in the US and Western Europe – which together comprise a large majority of global power lawn and garden equipment demand – use of professional landscapers in these markets is on the rise. This is due in part to aging homeowners who are decreasingly able or willing to perform landscape maintenance, but sufficiently affluent to afford professional services.

2. IoT Home Takeover

Mature markets such as the US and Germany are also seeing increased penetration of high-value residential power lawn and garden equipment, such as robotic lawn mowers that can be integrated with users’ existing smart home ecosystem. As outdoor living trends continue to bring more indoor comforts outside – think smart lighting, water features, and heating elements – use of smart maintenance equipment that can keep lawn and garden areas tidy with minimal user input will also rise.

Smart lawn and garden robots have a ways to go technologically speaking before they can gain a significant foothold in the larger market, and the potential effects are mixed. For example:

• The more robotic mowers that are sold to residential end users, the fewer contracts professional landscapers can expect, which could lead to a sales value boost in the residential segment at the expense of the commercial segment.
• However, commercial end users will also invest in lawn and garden robots as technological advances make these products more viable in nonresidential applications, driving up the commercial market value as well.

3. Higher-Value Electric Equipment Increases Market Share Over Much Larger Engine-Driven Segment

Through 2023, battery-powered lawn and garden equipment is forecast to gain an increasing share of demand at the expense of the much larger engine-driven segment, thanks to technology innovations improving the performance of these products while also lowering prices:

• Improvements in power and run times will expand the scope of applications for battery-powered equipment, enabling increased penetration in commercial markets.
• Falling costs for batteries will make these products more cost-competitive in residential and commercial segments alike.
• Sales will also be boosted by rising penetration of robotic mowers, which typically run on battery power.

4. Rising Incomes & Emerging Industries Drive New Demand Opportunities in Developing Markets

In developing markets such as Central and South America and the Asia/Pacific region, commercial end users account for the bulk of power lawn and garden equipment demand for a number of reasons:

• Residential lawns are generally rare in these often low-income, occasionally arid areas that may not support much vegetation, and thus lawn care activities are minimal.
• Because the need for roadside maintenance is universal, nonresidential sales opportunities exist even in countries with minimal lawn care cultures.
• Robust forestry industries in otherwise small markets such as Brazil and China create consistent if limited sales opportunities for equipment such as chainsaws.

Going forward, rising incomes and expanding tourism in many of the lower-income countries in these regions are expected to impact favorably on power lawn and garden equipment sales. For example, the growing popularity of golf resorts in developing markets such as Costa Rica, Mexico, Indonesia, and Thailand will lead to increased demand for higher-value commercial-grade equipment such as lawn mowers.

Want to Learn More?

For more information on these and other relevant industry trends, see Global Power Lawn & Garden Equipment, a new study from The Freedonia Group. In addition to historical demand data (2008, 2013, and 2018) and forecasts for 2023 by product group and global region, the study provides company market share and analysis on key global industry competitors like Deere, Husqvarna, Toro, MTD Products, and STIHL.

About the Author:

Peter Kusnic is a Content Writer with The Freedonia Group, where he researches and writes studies focused on the consumer goods and packaging industries.