Field Agent points to regional buying habits

This spring, survey respondents in the Northeast United States reported they will plant/lay grass at 144% of the national average. Compare this with homeowners in the Southwest, whose responses show they will plant/lay grass at only 68% of the average.

That's one of the findings in a report from Fayetteville, Arkansas-based Field Agent, which collects data from consumers.

[The full report can be accessed here.]

Gathering data from more than 500 widely dispersed locations around the country, the "Lawn & Garden: Insights into homeowner's activities, attitudes and preferences" looked into five different regions: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and West.

The company said it drew important behavioral and purchase comparisons between homeowners in different parts of the country. For instance:

• Southeasterners (125% of national average), Northeasterners (124%), and Midwesterners (117%) in our survey said they are in the mood to mulch this spring. Westerners? At only 58% of the average.

• In the survey, homeowners in the Midwest said they’ll spend 143% of the national average on plants and flowers this spring. By contrast, Westerners will spend 78% and Midwesterners 77% of the overall average.