As we step out of the pandemic, people across the globe have adopted various hobbies and made it a part of their lives. Whether it is yoga, completing e-courses, baking, or painting. But what comes as no surprise is gardening! Yes, the houseplants are having their moment right now, thanks to millennials and the culture of work from home since the past few years. Millennials are now calling themselves plant parents because well, who doesn’t love to be surrounded by some greenery and fresh air?

While it is a way to pass time for some, for others it has managed to significantly reduce stress and anxiety. It is one of the most therapeutic activities which can help put one’s mind to ease. While gardening is proven to have many health benefits, the trend of indoor plants is quite ornamental and can really spruce up one’s home.The sudden rise in pollution and the need for clean air is a key driver for this category as well. Flipkart’s gardening subcategory as a whole has seen a 150% YoY growth.

As people stayed home, the platform witnessed a rise in demand for plant seeds and plant saplings. Verticals like plant trimmers, fence posts, water cranes, and plant straighteners grew by a whopping 15x. As customers become more aware, the demand for artificial turf and portable greenhouses saw an uptick during the pandemic too, making indoor plants and terrace gardens quite the hot topic. The platform has also witnessed a spike in purchase of plants like bamboos and bonsais which can be a great accessory for one’s living space.

Much to everyone’s surprise, the customer purchasing pattern has shown that women in metro, tier 1 and tier 2 cities are more likely to scroll through the gardening category. Flipkart has also witnessed that the customer base in metro cities is younger than the customer base in tier 2+ cities. Apart from the metro cities, Guwahati, Ernakulam and Pune were top demand drivers. The demographic ranges from ages 15 to 35 across the above-mentioned cities. The preferred brands among the customers are Ferns N Petals, Trust Basket, Taparia, Stanley, Visko, Kraft Seeds and Ugaoo.

There has also been a shift in the purchasing pattern where premium and high quality products are preferred over the usual products. The pre-covid era saw purchasing patterns focused on essentials such as manure, saplings, and containers but post-pandemic, Flipkart has seen high amounts of orders in care tools such as sprayers, shoulder gloves, fence posts, and hose brackets and clamps. Gardening is a great start to step out of the 9 to 5 routine and soak up some vitamin D. So, go try getting some dirt under your nails and sow a seed for the future.