One unexpected outcome of the pandemic came around Christmas time - with more customers purchasing live trees during 2020 than in years past.
Two North San Luis Obispo County Christmas tree lots attested to the growth, with opposite outcomes in the years that followed.
Rick Armet, Owner of Templeton's Agape Christmas Tree, saw his tree sales increase by 25% during the first year of the pandemic.
“Especially during the pandemic and after, a lot of people do tend to come in and get Christmas trees even earlier each year just to enjoy it longer and have something happy and fun to celebrate,” Armet said.
Since then, customers have wanted to purchase his inventory even earlier than usual.
“We even get calls in October, believe it or not, wanting Christmas trees and we don’t have any available then,” Armet said.
Armet said they started selling trees the week before Thanksgiving to meet the demand and have been increasing their order for trees since 2020.
“It’s a little bit of a bold move because it was hard to tell being that we had to order these in June. We didn’t know if we would even be allowed to be open in December or November. And also would the demand be there?” Armet said.
Dennis Hopper, Owner of Hopper Family Christmas Tree Lot in Paso Robles said he saw a similar trend during covid but a decline in sales in the years since.
“The first year of the pandemic yes, it went up and then it’s kinda plateaued and then last year it kind of fell,” Hopper said.
He attributes the recent decline in demand to the preference for fake trees.
But for those who prefer live trees, it’s the tradition that brings them back to the lot.
“It’s more than just the tree. The tree is the centerpiece of their celebration and the tradition, but it’s also an outing to come to one of our lots,” Hopper said, “It’s really a cool thing. A real Christmas tree.”
“I think that a lot of people realize that they enjoy having their own Christmas tree in their house and coming home to that Christmas tree smell and the sight of having that tree in the house,” Armet said.
