Online sales trim annual Christmas tree ritual
STOCKHOLM — It’s snowing. The children laugh and prance through the woods. Dad fells the perfect fir and carries it home over his shoulder. The family sings carols and drinks cocoa as they happily decorate the tree.
That yuletide dream, peddled by Hallmark cards and Lifetime movies, is as believable as flying reindeer. For Christine Chen, the reality is often squabbling over the right tree, scratching the car with the branches, and leaving a trail of needles as it’s crammed through the door.
So this year, the new mom went tree shopping exactly where she goes for most purchases: the Internet, where she paid $136.74 US for a 2.1-metre fir. As more consumers like Chen opt for convenience over fantasy, online tree sellers are seeing sales surge this year.
For Chen, a public policy analyst from Belmont, Calif., the upside was “no needles in the car!” as well as a pickup service after the holidays.
“With a newborn in the house, it’s a lot easier to get stuff delivered,” she said. “Why not order a Christmas tree on the Internet too?”
Though online sales make up no more than three per cent of the $1-billion-US holiday tree market in the United States, according to the National Christmas Tree Association, more retailers are starting to peddle them on the web. Home Depot, the biggest seller of Christmas trees in the U.S., began offering them online last year and says it has expanded its lineup for this season, with trees on its website ranging from $69 to $223 US.
“We want to make sure they are able to shop online and get their holiday needs if they can’t get to our stores,” said Bob Sedlatschek, a manager for live goods at Home Depot. Web sales represented about one per cent of the 2.6 million firs and pines sold by the Atlanta-based retailer last year, he said.
Home Depot teamed up with Uber, the online car service, to deliver Christmas trees to homes in 10 U.S. cities earlier this month. By clicking on Uber’s mobile app, customers could get a seven- to eight-foot fir brought directly to their door for $135 US.