Through the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers spent a great deal of time planning home improvement projects. We saw evidence of this in 2020 and planning activity continues to be strong through the 1st quarter of 2021.
See some of the highlights from HIRI's Quarterly Consumer Project Planning Survey in the infographic below.
During the past 10 months of COVID19 lockdowns, homeowners have changed the way they think about their homes and have made many changes to improve them in ways that better serve their needs.
In a qualitative study conducted by The Caney Group in partnership with HIRI, we identified five major themes about homeowner remodeling attitudes, behaviors, and future remodeling plans.
Each quarter since 2012, Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) has surveyed approximately 3,000 homeowners for its Home Improvement Project Intent Tracking Survey. The survey asks homeowners which of 32 different home improvement project areas (if any) they are planning in the next three months. It also explores to what extent they agree with statements about their homes and home improvement. The goal of these surveys is to better understand consumer project sentiment.
To provide manufacturers and retailers with consistent updates regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the home improvement industry, Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) partnered with The Farnsworth Group to develop the COVID-19 Impact Tracker. Since March 2020, our team has conducted regular research to understand the pandemic’s effect on purchasing behaviors of home improvement professionals and DIYers.
The February 2021 results reflect survey responses from 1,000 DIYers and hundreds of contractors.
Here’s what we learned...
Younger generations are leading the push in home purchasing and remodeling projects. They are also leaders in online purchases of building materials. How does this behavior compare to millennials and older generations? See our infographic below to deep dive into the insights.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, “home,” for many, has doubled as an office, school, movie theater, gym and more. The bottom line? Homeowners are spending more time at home, undoubtedly changing how remodeling projects are prioritized.
The housing market is hot — and its reach is broad. Current homebuyers hail from four different generations, each of which follows different purchasing patterns. New research from the Home Improvement Research Institute explores these patterns and their drivers, creating a valuable resource that can help inform your decisions.
So, what are the homebuyer generations, and how do their unique characteristics affect the housing market?
2020 didn't just disrupt lives - it completely changed the way people lived. We all spent more time than ever before in our homes as school went online, companies transitioned to remote work and online shopping became the norm. This trend made people focus more on where they live.
How did COVID-19 change home buying? Find out what we learned from HIRI's Recent Home Buyer Study in the infographic below.
Homeowners and DIYers make their home improvement purchases for any number of reasons. Understanding the mindset around their purchases can help home improvement companies gain insight into their DIY customers and the decisions they’re making in order to market more effectively.
Having data on home improvement and insights on customer behavior can help professionals navigate a shifting and unpredictable economy.
The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) gives its members research, survey results and insights on the home improvement industry so that retailers, manufacturers and other organizations can better understand the consumers that they serve.
The 2020 HIRI Product Purchase Track Survey (PPTS) is now available to members. The survey looks at trends in home improvement product and service purchases based on data provided biennially from homeowners across the United States.
COVID-19 has changed the way we all do business, from manufacturers to contractors. In a year where we’ve all had to adapt, both to huge swings in demand and in terms of how our services are provided, contractors especially are adjusting to the new realities.
2020 has been a challenging year across all industries, and home improvement has been no exception. With so many homeowners at home, the demand for home improvement products and services exploded, while the supply chain struggled to keep up with that demand.
Let’s look at the top findings from HIRI’s home improvement industry research this year.
A Year of Home Buying
Home sales have been a hot topic throughout much of the year. Aside from the short drop due to COVID-19 lockdowns this spring, home purchasing has exploded, showing growth rates more than 20% in recent months compared to last year. While this explosive growth has larger implications overall, like increasing home prices and homeownership rates and decreasing housing inventory, it also has a longer tail for those within the home improvement and remodeling industry. As shown in HIRI’s Consumer Project Planning survey and echoed by MetroSight’s Issi Romem at HIRI’s recent Virtual Summit, the time period following a home purchase is filled with a flurry of renovation activity by the new home owners.
There isn’t one way to define “normal” in 2020, especially when it comes to home improvement industry trends.
This year’s HIRI Summit was, like most conferences and events in 2020, held a little differently — though that didn’t take away from the wealth of knowledge the panel of experts imparted.
The HIRI Virtual Summit 2020 event provided attendees access to valuable data and market research on home improvement over a three-day span. The best part was, this year, registrants could attend from wherever they were, at no cost.
The construction industry has seen monumental shifts and significant economic changes in recent years (not to mention the last few months). It’s an understatement to say that business hasn’t been predictable.
It can help to get some perspective — or at least a way to navigate through the changes and trends. A HIRI membership offers its members a glimpse of just that: the bigger picture.
Home-basing is a term coined by Trusted Media Brands and refers to the act of staying home and creating experiences there, as opposed to going out on the town. This trend has become especially popular with quarantines and stay-at-home orders in place around the country this year.
The HIRI 2020 Virtual Summit included a presentation by Nick Grzechowiak, Chief Content Officer at Trusted Media Brands, on this trend. Entitled “Home Basing: Trends and Insights on Your Most Valuable Investment,” it explored the trends in homeowner and DIYer purchasing activity and helped Summit attendees understand the data that current market research reveals around home-basing.
To measure the current economic climate and understand purchasing behavior in home improvement, the COVID-19 Impact Tracker was developed and used to research consumer purchases from home improvement stores by the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) in partnership with The Farnsworth Group.
HIRI and The Farnsworth Group made it a priority to study home improvement shopping behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the impact of COVID on the behavior of home improvement professionals and DIYers have been significant, and we tracked this information on a regular basis to stay on top of the trend.
HIRI's Size of the Home Improvement Products Market is the home improvement industry’s only product focused size of market study providing data back to 1992 with 5 year forecasts for the consumer and professional markets.
HIRI releases two forecast updates every year for HIRI members. Learn more on how to become a HIRI member.
