By Joan Verdon
PITTSBURG POST GAZETTE
HACKENSACK, N.J

It’s beginning to look a lot like this will be a good year for businesses that sell Christmas trees, both artificial and fresh-cut.
National estimates show an uptick in sales compared with last year.
“It’s nice to have a season that has a little oomph to it,” after a string of challenging years for retailers, said Glenn Pendergast, an owner of the Willow Run nursery and store in Cresskill, N.J., which sells cut trees and greenery, as well as holiday lights and decorations.
Backyard Living in Ridgewood, N.J., which specializes in high-end artificial trees, had to scramble to get more trees from suppliers after selling out of some models.
“We realized we were going to run out and we called one company; they were out. Another company had just a few models left, we bought those and those are all sold through,” said Backyard Living owner Tom Vielbig. He said his sales of trees and holiday decorations and home decor and gifts increased 20 percent in the first 12 days of December, compared with a year ago.
Nationally, spending on Christmas trees is forecast to increase 3.1 percent this year to $3.4 billion, according to Los Angeles-based industry research firm IBISWorld. Savannah Haspel of IBISWorld said Americans will buy 25 million fresh-cut trees, or $800 million worth, and spend $2.6 billion for 10 million artificial trees this holiday season.
While tree sales have not rebounded to pre-recession levels — Americans spent $3.5 billion on trees in 2007 — this is the third straight year sales have risen, after plunging more than 10 percent in 2008, according to IBISWorld.
Home Depot, the largest seller of cut trees in the nation — with more than 2 million sold last year — is expecting strong tree sales this year, as well as robust sales of holiday decorations, according to a company spokeswoman.

Steve Whiteman, manager of the CHRISTMASin Totowa, N.J., said he is seeing increased interest in fresh-cut trees, in part because of the desire for a traditional celebration and also because of a growing feeling that they are better for the environment.
Home Depot this year for the first time has given that holiday tradition a cyber-update by selling trees online, with free home delivery. The price for a home-delivered 9-foot Fraser fir is $179.
Holiday decoration sales also have been healthy in recent weeks, Mr. Whiteman said. “I guess folks took advantage of the warm weather we had and wanted to get some of the Christmas lights up outside,” he said.
The new LED Christmas lights, which use less electricity and are considered better for the environment, are also driving sales, and Home Depot is offering rebates to consumers who trade in their old strings of lights.
The store also is seeing strong demand for a premium Martha Stewart brand of lights, he said.
Mr. Pendergast, at Willow Run nursery, credits the good weather since an October snowstorm with helping his business.
“The past three or four years, we’ve had a weather event on one of our two major weekends that adversely affected sales,” he said. “This year the weather’s been pretty much perfect from Thanksgiving on, so that’s definitely helped us.”
“I’m cautiously optimistic that maybe it will continue through to spring,” he said.
All the trimmings
Americans are expected to spend $3.41 billion on Christmas trees this year. That compares with:
• $47.2 billion for gifts
• $5.75 billion for gift cards
• $5.37 billion for food
• $5.26 billion for decorations
• $3.02 billion for greeting cards and postage
Source: IBISWorld