Merchandising mowers

Beyond the doors of your average home improvement retailer, the world of lawn and garden equipment hasn’t entirely been flipped on its axis (unless you’re talking about Briggs & Stratton’s Mow’n’Stow technology, which enables lawnmowers to be stored vertically, or Troy-Bilt’s new Bronco Axis Vertical-Line Tiller, which features vertical tines).

Even with newfangled contraptions like robotic mowers on the rise — a market that’s gained more traction in Europe for the time being — there’s been “nothing earth-shattering” for the category in terms of recent innovation, says Jeff Ridgeway, Do it Best’s merchandise manager for outdoor power equipment. Instead, the retailers that are pulling ahead in this segment seem to be the ones that recognize the customer’s desire to be up close and personal with the product.



In Ridgeway’s view, the biggest thing that’s changed about the way consumers shop for lawnmowers is the amount of information they have at their fingertips — prior to ever walking in the door.



“Consumers are really more educated with high-dollar investment-type purchases, so a lot of the time when they’re coming to the door, they’re really looking to qualify some research they did online,” he said. “They’re looking to confirm their decision.”



In that sense, it seems the Internet may never eradicate the customer’s need to see, touch and feel the merchandise. For Edward Casey, buyer at California chain Friedman’s Home Improvement, a diverse brand assortment does much to sweeten the deal.



“It’s about depth and breadth,” he said. “I don’t want to say we’re completely unique, but we’re a little bit different than the average home improvement store in that although we’re family-owned, we’re still a very large format. Someone can come into our stores and [visit] the outdoor power [section] and shop from five brands of equipment,” among which are leading names like Husqvarna, Remington and Troy-Bilt.



Friedman’s manages to be a standout player in outdoor power equipment for Do it Best, and that’s despite the fact that California has dealt with more than its fair share of drought issues over the last few years. One secret to its success is in-store organization.



“Our philosophy in merchandising outdoor power equipment is the same as throughout most of the rest of the store,” Casey said. “We prefer not to merchandise by brand — we prefer to [organize products] by product category. So if someone is looking for lawnmowers, they’re all together and they’re organized by price point.” Beyond cost, consumers are also concerned with features, Casey said.



Most mowers these days come with overhead valves, which are easier to start, last longer and provide more power, according to Ridgeway — that’s a result of consumer demand.



Battery technology is also going through some shifts, with improvements in lithium batteries as well as significant movement in cordless models (that’s where string trimmers, blowers and hedge trimmers are concerned).



And who knows? With a lowering in price point, smart mowers may become a contender in the United States. Husqvarna currently leads the robotic lawn care market, according to a recent report by ABI Research.



For the time being, demand for power lawn and garden equipment continues to grow at a projected steady clip of 4.0% annually through 2017, according to a 2013 report by The Freedonia Group.