UNITED NURSERY REWRITES RULES FOR LIVE GOODS E-COMMERCE FULFILLMENT

Implements Five Key Strategies for Live Goods Reseller Success

HOMESTEAD, Fla., March 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- United Nursery, one of the nation's largest tropical plant growers, is re-writing live goods product fulfillment rules for online retailers. The farm fulfills thousands of orders daily for retailers including Home Depot, Walmart, Lowe's, Wayfair and others, while providing third-party logistics (3PL) fulfillment for other well-known brands.

Online buyers spend $401.81 for plants versus $125.33 for in-store-only plant purchasers.

As online shopping booms with no end in sight, Mordor Intelligence estimates the e-commerce fulfillment market size at $US143.16 billion in 2025, expecting it to reach USD 290.46 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 15.2%. However, fulfilling online orders for live goods—living plants and horticultural products—has unique challenges.

Building Online Customer Loyalty
"Successful e-commerce sales and satisfied customers depend on safe, rapid delivery of beautiful living plants and a great out-of-box experience," says Jose Rodriguez, President of United Nursery. "Ensuring a consistent experience across thousands of orders per day means re-thinking the entire process—from inventory variety and availability to continuously monitoring consumer tastes, optimizing digital marketing, and driving new levels of fulfillment efficiency."

E-commerce live plant retailers have one opportunity to make a great impression and win loyal customers—at the point of plant delivery. If they do that well, online plant buyers are loyal. Many also occasionally buy plants in physical retail locations, and in both instances, they spend significantly more than in-store-only buyers. In April 2024, a study by the Horticultural Research Institute found that on average, online buyers spend $401.81 for plants versus $125.33 for in-store-only plant purchasers.

Five New Rules for Live Goods Fulfillment
Other consumer products that can be stacked in uniform boxes and picked from a shelf. However, live plants aren't a standard size or weight, and they have varying levels of tolerance for mishandling and extreme temperatures.

"We've implemented five strategies to drive successful e-commerce live goods fulfillment," said Rodriguez. "Sellers can either build these capabilities in-house or outsource them to us. As we've implemented these practices, not only do we get beautiful plants to customers faster, we also help our retail customers uncover new opportunities for improving their product selection and supply chain efficiency."

Co-locate inventory and fulfillment. At United Nursery, live plants are selected and moved directly from growing fields to the fulfillment line. For sellers—whether they are garden centers, big-box direct-to-consumer stores, or lifestyle retailers, this approach provides immediate access to hundreds of plant varieties quickly and efficiently.

Adopt a technology-driven mindset. Technology solutions and technically skilled resources are essential for managing end-to-end digital fulfillment. Systems must integrate with a wide range of customers' e-commerce platforms to support their content optimization, advertising, and catalog updating strategies, and shipments.

Invest in purpose-made packaging. United Nursery has developed eco-friendly packaging designed to protect plants during transit and provide an aesthetically pleasing first impression for customers. 

Pre-stage expert transportation. Explosive e-commerce growth has prompted carriers to enhance their delivery networks, reduce transit times, and increase overall efficiency—providing shoppers with a timely delivery experience. UPS and FedEx pre-stage trucks onsite at United Nursery for daily scheduled pickups. The fulfillment center loads trucks and maintains hands-on control over every plant until the truck departs the facility.

Expect continuous process improvement and innovation. The farm continues to monitor and adapt processes to improve supply chain efficiency for itself and its customers. All processes are constantly reviewed for improvement—from SEO optimization and A/B content testing to packaging. We're also continually innovating our fulfillment infrastructure to increase safety and throughput.

As demand for online live plant sales continues to expand, United Nursery is supporting its partners and customers with scalable, efficient, and technologically advanced fulfillment solutions. With its deep expertise in live plant production, technology commitment, and large-scale live plant availability, United Nursery underscores its commitment to customers through innovation, quality, and exceptional service.

About United Nursery
United Nursery is a premier provider of live goods, specializing in tropical plants. The company's customers include leading home improvement, warehouse clubs, and grocery chains in the U.S., as well as online e-commerce retailers. Launched in 1997, the farm produces 3.5 million plants annually and ships thousands of live plants a day across the U.S. United Nursery is based in Homestead, FL and is privately held.

For Media Inquiries, Contact:
Sisi DeIzaguirre, United Nursery
PRs@unitednursery.com

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SOURCE United Nursery