Houseplants increase in popularity thanks to millennials

It is often said that the spending habits of millennials are deteriorating many industries across the United States. From beer, soda and cereal companies, to department stores, chain restaurants and even the game of golf. But it seems their influence might just be reviving an industry which has long been ignored – houseplants.

According to a recent Bloomberg News article entitled The One Thing Millennials Haven’t Killed Is Houseplants, their influence on making houseplants trendy again has caused U.S. sales to surge almost 50 percent in three years to $1.7 billion, according to the National Gardening Association.

Many are still purchased at big-box stores such as Home Depot and Walmart, where inexpensive varieties are tailored to novices and readily available throughout the year.

These “blossoms of wellness” as they’re often referred, allow millennials to connect with nature, which is increasingly important to this demographic, while providing them the opportunity to care for something that is more manageable than a pet, and less messy too.

As social media platforms began to realize millennials appetite for houseplants, it further helped to fuel the craze – especially on Instagram (millennials platform of choice). Now house plants are considered the newest home decorating trend, with online plant stores growing in popularity (The Sill, Amazon Plant Store, Etsy Inc.) to capture the online shopping experience millennials crave.

Even garden centers are getting into the mix – offering decorative containers with popular houseplants in one “ready-to-take-home” package.

While garden centers might not be as trendy as some online plant retailers, they have a firm understanding that millennials like things they can simply purchase, put on a table or window ledge and water. No dirty hands required.

Say what you want about millennials, but they’ve taken an industry whose sales boomed in the 1970s and then fell like a lead balloon due to more minimalistic design trends and made it popular again.

If nothing else, it’s certainly a good time to be growing plants.