Garden centre sales of wild bird food and associated products soared by 16% in January compared with the previous January, according to new Garden Centre Association (GCA) figures.
The association puts it down to garden birds needing more food in 2015's colder January, and "kind-hearted people are certainly willing to help out their feathered friends by providing food for them," explained GCA chairman Will Armitage.

"Birds require high energy, high fat foods during the cold winter weather to maintain their fat reserves so they can survive frosty nights. Healthy garden birds also help keep pest numbers down in the summer months, so it's important to look after them," he added.

Sales of seeds and bulbs also did well in January at 13% up, while garden sundries were 9% up on 2014.

Alan Goold, partner in Henry Street Garden Centre in Arborfield, Reading, commented: "Overall, January sales are up, with bird food leading the way due mainly to a drop in prices of the raw materials being passed onto the consumer.

"We also managed to sell through a lot of Christmas goods in a New Year sale, which enabled us to get out some new stock for spring, and customers seem to be itching to see the new ranges of furniture coming out which are due to land in February. So it does look as though people are more confident for the coming season."

Creative Gardens, which has centres in Donaghadee, Bushmills and at Galgorm Castle, also saw good sales throughout the month. Finance and marketing director Philip Gass said: "January trading was exceptionally good across all centres; like for like, our Donaghadee and Bushmills centres saw increases of 23% and 36%. Café sales continue to be strong but the significant increases in the garden centres are have arisen from a conscious effort to promote value and take advantage of the post-Christmas sale mentality.

"Traditionally, sales in the first week of January have come largely from discounted Christmas goods. This year we expanded the scope of our sale offer significantly and encouraged a greater spend across all departments, even outdoor plants."

Meanwhile, clothing has been performing exceptionally well at St Peter's Garden Centre in Worcester, with full-year sales up 64%. Manager William Blake explained: "We took the decision to introduce more fashionable brands to the department and it has definitely paid off. In addition, we actively purchase 'star buys' for women and men for each month, which sell very well. These are normally well-recognised leading brands, at promotional prices, eg, up to 50% off.

"A good percentage of our clothing sales come from impulse purchases, and therefore items priced below £20, £30 and £40 work particularly well."