In April, BUILDER.com released the results of its 2019 survey of residential contractors. The survey, as in previous years, asked about awareness, use, and the perceived quality of 600+ brands across 51 building product categories, providing key insights for players in the residential building market.
Here are a few of the highlights.
- The number of surveys completed exceeded 1,000 for the first time since 2016.
- Builders are more interested in trying new brands than ever before, continuing a 10-year trend. The survey found that 66% of respondents indicate an interest in trying new brands for advanced or new product features (77%), lower price (50%), and improved quality (47%).
- Product performance continues to be the most important factor driving brand selection, with “green/sustainable features” cited as least important by contractors providing caulks/sealants and closets/organization systems. However, contractors of HVAC products do place high importance on sustainable features: with about 40% of total building energy consumption attributed to Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Systems, HVAC contractors are focused on implementing sustainable systems to reduce energy and harmful CO2 emissions.
- A high-quality rating does not guarantee high levels of use. Product categories where the most-used brand has a quality rating at least 7% below the leader include Dishwashers, Fireplaces, Kitchen Appliances, Laundry Appliances, and Stucco.
- Several markets are seeing compelling product category developments, with some a result of market competition and quality ratings.
- Carpets: Market share (brands used the most) between the two dominant brands—Mohawk and Shaw—is even for the first time since 2014.
- Exterior Mouldings/Trim/Columns: This market is more competitive than it has been in recent years, with four different brands being used the most by 12-16% of contractors.
- Bathroom Ventilation: Panasonic Eco Solutions (PES) bounced back from 6% of contractors saying they use it the most to 21%, which is a closer level to Broan (27%) and NuTone (26%). PES has had the highest quality rating for the last four years.
Explore the data and discover more insights using Hanover’s BUILDER Brand Use Study dashboard, the only tool available with robust visualizations and data from the last ten years.
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