Trees Mean Business

The outside shopping environment has been found to be just as important as the inside shopping environment when it comes to influencing sales.

Shoppers have indicated that the aesthetics of the shopping precinct will determine how far they travel to shop, how frequently they shop, how long they spend shopping and the amount of money they spend.

Studies in the USA also suggest that perceptions remain relatively consistent across all types of retail too; from the impulse-buy, low-end specialty store to the expensive high-end ticketed item.  Given the low-profit margins of most retail businesses, trees appear to provide a significant ‘amenity margin’

(Source: The Monthly Journal of The National Trust Main Street Center, Main Street News no. 263, August 2009).

Participants also consistently priced goods significantly higher in landscaped districts. Prices were, on average, about 11% higher in the landscaped environment compared to the no-tree district.

Overarching tree canopy along a retail footpath or avenue helps create a ‘sense of place’.  City trees create vibrancy by improving the overall shopping experience, making commercial areas more interesting, and offering a pleasant alternative to internet shopping and big-box stores and [shopping centres] set in the middle of hot, windy [car parks].

(Source:Wolf, K.L. 2013, Communities & Banking 24, 2: 25-27,The Urban Forest)

We believe that the trees featured below work well in a shopping precinct, providing shaded walkways, seasonal colour and movement. Nurtured in a production environment to ensure a single and strong central leader once established these hard-working trees tolerate a wide range of soil types, are easily maintained and constantly draw pollution out of the air. All while we eat and shop!