INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
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Virtual garden tours and personal online advice is the new way of business
Garden centres
and nurseries are offering online personal shopping services to reduce wastage.Companies have been livestreaming videos of their centres and
FaceTiming and emailing customers to offer advice and guidance on orders during lockdown.The industry has warned millions of plants, shrubs
and trees could be thrown out in the coming weeks.Some 2,000 garden centres and nurseries have been shut down at what is usually their
busiest time of year.Independent traders have said that adapting business to online orders, delivery and collection is enabling them to keep
up with the high demand while respecting social-distancing measures.Now, garden suppliers are following suit.Chessington Garden Centre has
The Palace Gardener says people are sending photos of their gardens and asking for virtual advice
Alfonso Marone, UK
head of technology at KPMG, says garden centres are experiencing the same kind of pressure that homeware stores did at the onset of the
counteracting an anxious and uncertain time."'Phone hasn't stopped'Jean Cottier has been running Aigburth Hall Nurseries in South Liverpool
With limited staff, keeping the plants alive is a priority
Davies Brothers Nursery, in Buckinghamshire, has
been using YouTube to create a virtual shopping channel, posting videos regularly showcasing stock available
that was all set up for a normal spring-summer season until the whole world suddenly changed
hardest to get plants to as many of our loyal customers as possible
