The Farnsworth Group recently conducted a public study among landscapers on the use and attitudes of gas-powered outdoor power equipment (OPE) versus battery-powered outdoor equipment. A similar study was conducted two years ago, and in that time, there have been noticeable changes in battery-powered OPE use among landscapers.
21% of OPE purchased by landscaping firms over the past 12 months were battery powered, a sizeable increase from the 2016 results. More importantly, we found the larger the firm, the more likely they were to purchase battery-powered OPE in the last year. 32% of OPE purchases in the past 12 months were battery powered among firms doing more than $750,000 in revenue.
What is driving an increase in battery-powered OPE purchases among landscapers? They are:
- Environmentally friendly, producing clean air
- Low priced, with the price of battery powered OPE having decreased in recent years
- High return on investment, as they eliminate the cost of gas.
However, battery-powered OPE still faces a major hurdle: run time.
Unlike homeowners, landscapers need the equipment to run for hours at a time. Concerns still remain regarding how to charge equipment while in the field, how quickly equipment will charge and how long that charge will last. Of those landscapers surveyed, 33% do not have any battery-powered OPE, due largely to these concerns.
Even as battery-powered outdoor power equipment grows among professionals, there is still a big opportunity to further penetrate the traditional gas-powered OPE market.
Next month we’ll review how landscaper attitudes are changing, perceived strengths of battery-powered OPE and perceived weaknesses of battery-powered OPE. Will there be a shift from gas? Will gas maintain clear dominance among certain product categories? Only time will tell, and our next busy season is right around the corner!
Contact us today to learn more about how you can break into the gas-powered OPE market or to receive the full report.