Stay Ahead of the Changes

Impacting Home Improvement

Do not underestimate the effects that trade wars have on “bystander” countries and industries—firms can and have paid dearly for assuming they will be unaffected simply because their supply chains and/or end products are not being directly targeted.

The fundamentals of the home improvement market are strong, and housing stock and homeowner make-up are favorable in keeping the market strong.

When you talk about sustainability as it relates to home improvement purchases, savings is not an effective message. Try to tie the benefit to health, and give Americans prescriptive steps to take to make it happen.

Adaptation is key right now. We are in a space where media is constantly changing because technology is constantly changing. ‘Ask your neighbor’ has now become ‘Ask Google.’ When you can’t try before you buy, brands have to offer other modes like videos and reviews that make you feel like you are experiencing the process. Video has now become a trusted source for information, product transparency and added value.

Shopping and purchasing via mobile device is growing rapidly and must be a main strategy at retail.

For home improvement, the shopper’s journey is not just ‘where do I find this?’ but more importantly ‘how do I do this?’ making the role of the associate critical.