There have been some unusual business trends as a result of the pandemic. The latest is that Christmas tree sales are soaring.
The live Christmas tree market has been booming over the past month. Michelle Keyser of the Pennsylvania Christmas Tree Growers Association says sales started the week prior to Thanksgiving.
“We know from our members that customers were shopping for trees early. Earlier than usual,” Keyser said.
Keyser attributed some of the interest in live trees to the pandemic, which may have spurred some people to try a new, out of the house activity.
“Some of our members have reported that they have had new people coming to their farms,” Keyser said. “One of our growers said he increased his Christmas tree stand order by 30 percent.”
But with the increase in demand, that also led to some supply issues. Which can actually be traced back to the Great Recession of 2008.
“Trees weren’t selling 10 to 15 years ago,” Keyser said. “So if there are less coming out of the field, than there are fewer seedlings at that point. So I think that the supply may have been affected by what was going on a decade ago.”
Keyser also said she isn’t quite sure how the surge in sales this year will impact the industry a decade from now.
She does hope that this pattern will become a new family tradition and the Christmas tree industry continues to thrive in Pennsylvania.
