Cicada invasion makes headlines
Residents in the Midwest are dealing with cicadas that are emerging after a 17-year maturation process.
• Couple billion noisy visitors. Northwest Herald
• Cicada snack. Chicago Sun-Times
• Cicada, cikayda. BobVila.com

Retail employee retention is lacking
A CareerBuilder.com survey found that 48% of retail employers said it's harder to retain employees this year, compared to last year. The survey also found that 28% of retail employees plan to leave their current jobs within the next year and 46% within 2 years. Employees cite lack of career advancement opportunities, unsatisfactory pay, increased workload and work/life balance as contributing factors. "Turnover isn't a new challenge for retailers," said Rosemary Haefner, v.p. of human resources at CareerBuilder.com. "However, as the labor pool continues to shrink and retailers feel the pressure from consumers to keep doors open longer -- even 24 hours a day -- many retailers are embracing more competitive hiring and retention programs."

Gas prices take a toll on consumers
Rising gas prices continue to cause concern for both consumers and retailers. A survey from the Nat'l. Retail Federation found that 74.2% of consumers believe fluctuating gas prices have impacted spending habits, compared with 76.3% in 2006. Consumers are using different tactics to offset the financial impact. Many are taking fewer shopping trips (40.2%) and shopping closer to home (37.9%). About 30% are shopping for sales more often and 23.5% are using more coupons.

OAN continues Le Tour des Plants
Oregon Association of Nurseries will host its 2nd Le Tour des Plants, Sept. 15-23. The 9-day promotion involves more than 20 garden centers and nurseries in the Willamette Valley. The 1st tour, held last year, attracted good crowds and spurred fall sales. "Many participating garden centers reported a year-over-year 40% increase in sales during the 2006 Le Tour des Plants -- an excellent start to a promotion whose primary goal is increasing fall sales for OAN-member garden centers," said Ann Murphy, OAN dir. of marketing.

Deadline nears for container contest
Southeast Greenhouse Conference will again hold its container garden contest, sponsored by Branch-Smith Publishing. All entries must be pre-registered by June 8. There is no entry fee. Containers will be judged on day 3 of the conference, which runs June 20-23 in Greenville, S.C. The contest is open to attendees, exhibitors and previous winners. Top prize for attendees is $500.

ECGC develops customer magazine
ECGC, a group of U.S. independent garden retailers, has tapped publisher Pohly Co. to produce a specially tailored magazine for customers. The 1st issue of Inspirations was mailed this spring to 110,000 customers of English Gardens, Homestead Gardens and McDonald Garden Centers. The 32-page magazine features 16 pages of universal content and 16 pages tailored to the garden center's market. Magazines were sent to members of each garden center's loyalty club and customers with a history of repeat purchases. The publication is ad supported, drawing revenue from national and local businesses.

Americans selectively embrace technology
Research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows consumers have a love-hate relationship with technology. According to the report, 85% of American adults use the Internet or cell phones -- and most use both. Many also have broadband connections, digital cameras and video game systems. But only 8% of adults fully embrace all these technological resources. The report goes on to describe a fractured tech-consuming public. There are the full-fledged geeks, the moderate users and people who choose not to fiddle with e-mail and gadgets. No clear majority emerges.

View from a blog
The virtual reality garden center. Open Register

Worth a visit
Find out why Chalet won the 2007 Garden Center Innovator Award, sponsored by Garden Market Expo. Only on GreenBeam.com.