Blog

HIRI has analyzed recent market performance and consumer preferences to get a comprehensive picture of the state of the lumber and building materials market. The wood-based building materials market has experienced both positive and negative performance in recent years, and current HIRI size-of-market research points to a continuation of that pattern. Consider these figures:

Succeeding during product line reviews requires a solid understanding of the home improvement market and presenting a compelling marketing pitch backed by data and designed around the business interests of your retailers. To ensure your team is successful at product line reviews, be cognizant of the following:

The techniques used to gather, synthesize, and analyze market research will continue to evolve as new technologies and tools, such as generative AI, emerge and become available for public use. No matter what methodologies, techniques and processes you prefer, it’s important to utilize industry-specific data and insights around consumer behaviors, market trends, and product performance.

From this 10 minute video, you'll get a sense of the current macro-economic environment and how it is impacting homeowner behaviors.

From the rise of smart technology to the increasing demand for durable lock and gate hardware products, we will explore the key drivers behind the hardware market’s growth and predict how it will shape up in the years to come.

This analysis pro­vides a com­pre­hen­sive pic­ture of gen­er­a­tional atti­tudes and behav­iors towards the means by which home improvement projects are completed, comparing behaviors across all generations from Mil­len­ni­als to the Silent Generation.

As of findings from March of 2023, the majority of homeowners feel it is a bad time to start a remodeling project over $5000. But, the number of homeowners with positive sentiments towards starting smaller remodeling projects, under $5000, remains high, at 44%. Here's what we're seeing:

Among consumers, the window market is predicted to continue momentum through 2023, peaking at $7.2 billion for the consumer market before declining by 2-5% per year between 2024-2027. Among Professional installers, 2023 through 2025 continue to look like solid years for segment growth, with upwards of $9 billion anticipated each year for the professional market before cooling in 2026 and 2027.

Shoplifting is a persistent problem for home improvement retailers across the country, from big-box and specialty supply stores to independent hardware shops. To help reduce shrink due to theft, here are a few strategies to employ: