Millennials are obsessed with raising plants, and Costco is poised to capitalize (COST)

AP Photo/Holly Ramer

• Costco is selling succulent gardens for $20 as the houseplant craze takes over in the United States. 
• Millennials are thought to account for one-third of houseplant sales in the US.
• Experts say this is because many are waiting longer to buy homes and are living in smaller, urban spaces for longer, which drives an interest in raising plants.

Costco is selling cheap succulents, and millennials are likely to come running. 

This week, a Reddit thread was picked up by House Beautiful after a Costco shopper shared an image showing a $20 succulent garden they had bought at the warehouse store.

While this isn’t the first time Costco has sold succulents, commenters on the thread were quick to jump in and show their excitement.

A spokesperson did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.

Instagram is full of people bragging about their Costco plant purchases. 

 

 

Millennials have brought about a new trend for buying houseplants, and this generation is now thought to account for one-third of those sales in the US, according to Ian Baldwin, a business adviser for the gardening industry who spoke with The New York Times.

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The biggest driver of the trend seems to be space or, perhaps, the lack thereof, as many millennials are waiting longer to buy homes and are living in smaller, urban spaces for longer. For many, that creates a need for some green to bring the outside in.

Some have said that the act of looking after plants may also be filling a void for millennials who are not only buying houses later, but also delaying getting married and having children.

"Plants make us feel like grown-ups. When the traditional signs of adulthood — marriage, homeownership, children — are delayed or otherwise out of reach, it’s comforting to come home to something that depends on you," Jazmine Hughes wrote in The New York Times in June 2017.

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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Mary Hanbury)