Welcome to The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI)

A membership based, independent, not-for-profit organization of manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and allied organizations in the home improvement industry.  Its mission is to be recognized as the primary authority for effective, useful information about home improvement products and services in North America. The membership of HIRI currently represents 89 of the leading firms in the industry... More...

Announcing The HIRI Fall Conference

The full agenda has been announced for the HIRI Fall Conference on Wednesday, October 15, 2008. 

Titled Understanding The Future For Home Improvement, this day long conference is packed with information on the current status of home improvement activity and forward looking data/analysis on the major trends that will be shaping the future of the industry.  Conveniently located in Oak Brook, IL (near Chicago) this is an important event for everyone directly or indirectly involved in the home improvement industry. 

The Hyatt Lodge at McDonald's Campus
Oak Brook, Illinois

Click here  for more information and to register

BRAND NEW REPORTS!  JUST RELEASED!

2007 Product Category Drill-Down Study

In 13 separate product category reports, U.S. homeowners were asked about their individual product item purchases within them over the past 12-month period.  Questioning "drilled-down" deeper than any previous HIRI studies with 500 homeowner respondents for each of the 13 home improvement product category groupings.  All this information is available for only a very small fraction of what it would cost for you to replicate on your own. More... 

NOW AVAILABLE

2008 Reference Guide for the Home Improvement Market

This 245-page compendium of U.S. home improvement market data provides an at-your-fingertips guide to the many driving forces for this industry. Included in this document are sections on market size, excerpts from major HIRI studies, national population, employment, personal income, consumer expenditures, residential improvements & repairs, housing, industry contact sources and various reference material. Save valuable Internet surfing time by ordering this guide now!  Many HIRI members tell us they keep a copy of this guide within easy reach at all times. More...

NEW REPORT NOW AVAILABLE

The Future of Home Improvement (2006)

HIRI's highest member-rated report in 2006 is now available for sale.  This 149-page full-color report identifies how current trends in demographics and lifestyle values will impact and help shape homeowner needs and attitudes toward home improvement over the next 2-5 years.  Individual aspects explored are single households, Hispanics, aging Baby Boomers and how U.S. consumers have become empowered by greater confidence, the affluent attitude and the need for information on demand. More...

NOW AVAILABLE - New 4th Edition

The Role of Women in Home Improvement (2007)

A new 127-page special report derived from information collected in the 2006 HIRI Product Purchase Tracking Study and 2005 Project Decision Study highlighting the different roles played by females in the home improvement industry. Specific focus is given to the aspects of their project involvement, product purchasing, most common shopping methods & outlet types employed, sources of information used and a 5-cluster grouping of major lifestyle segments. More...

NEW REPORT NOW AVAILABLE

Generational Age Group Analysis of Home Improvement Activity (2006)

Major age groupings of Matures (born before 1946), Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and Generation X (1965-1978) are compared with each other in this 73-page report derived from information in the 2006 HIRI Product Purchase Tracking Study. Specific areas of focus include products purchased, projects undertaken, home services hired, typical shopping methods and information sources used. Attitudinal data is also included for each regarding their views of homeownership and home improvement activities along with a 5-cluster grouping of different major segments. More...

NOW AVAILABLE

2006 Product Purchase Tracking Study

This 10th edition of our biennial "bellwether" Product Purchase Tracking Study study of 1,550 homeowners is now available for sale to non-member companies. In it, these homeowners told us about their buying of 226 individual home improvement product items in 14 major product categories, involvement in 36 different major project types and hiring of 21 paid home services. Also included is their use of the Internet & other information sources for these purposes as well as a segmentation analysis based on responses to attitudinal statements coupled with their reported home improvement activity.  Available for sale in its entirety or by major product category section. More...

2007 Home Improvement E-Business Tracking Survey - June

Conducted by telephone in June 2007 with 683 U.S. homeowners, this report analyzes levels of online research & purchasing activity for both products in general and home improvement ones over the past year and their stated intentions of doing the same over the next 12 months.  Other areas explored include major reasons for buying online and researching a product on the Internet but not purchasing it there.  New focus is given in this current study wave to the importance of prior online research in the ultimate purchase decision made regardless of whether bought online or in a retail store. More...

2007 Online In-Depth Study of Home Improvement E-Bussiness Activity - August

This study covers the many details involved in the experiences of 300 homeowners over the past year who had either researched or purchased a home improvement product online.  Areas of specific focus are on the number & type of products reseached and purchased, their satisfaction with each aspect and the number & types of websites used in doing this. More...

2007 Remodeling Professional E-Business Research - July

A sample of 519 residential remodelers was queried online in late June/early July of 2007 regarding their use of  the Internet for business purposes.  Highlighted are top Internet activities engaged in and their frequencies, most valuable and difficult aspects for business use, most important reasons for buying & not buying needed products online, types of websites they use & their satisfaction with them and their suggestions for improvements. More...