Industry experts say they anticipate millennials buying more Christmas trees than other generations.
Doug Hundley is a seasonal spokesperson for the National Christmas Tree Association. He says they don’t have the data for this year yet, but they’re expecting to see large numbers of millennials buying real Christmas trees.
He says that’s because millennials have shown preferences for buying local, sustainable products, particularly those that are organic or artisanal.
“If you compare the real tree to the artificial tree, we’re clearly on the right side of their trends,” Hundley says.
Hundley says one reason fake trees are more common with older age groups is because they don’t require as much maintenance. He says younger shoppers, including millennials, have an easier time with the physical labor required to get and care for a real tree.
Jeanne Hopwood is the president of Twin H Farms in Bloomington. She says her farm hasn’t necessarily seen a higher number of millennial buyers, but they’ve had a busy season overall.
“I can’t say there’s one specific age group over another,” Hopwood says. “You see everything from young couples to families to older people.”
Real Christmas trees are available from the weekend after Thanksgiving through Christmas. Hundley says so far, the NCTA has received reports of high sales nationwide.
