A few recent surveys polled various groups working in the kitchen and bathroom trades for their thoughts on trends and the state of the industry.
The U.S. National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) recently released a Market Index Report . Polling their members, they found that industry insiders were “exceedingly optimistic” about future growth and felt confident in the shape of the economy. “As we move into the new year, we’re encouraged that this dynamic industry continues to grow and business outlooks are positive,” said NKBA CEO Bill Darcy in a press release.
They also found that countertops are “consumers’ primary splurge for both kitchen and bathroom jobs.” Watch for a feature breaking down the pros and cons of the various counter options on the market in our April/May issue.
U.S. retailer Hausera released a similar “ Kitchen & Bath Design Professional Insights Survey ,” asking 138 interior designers for their “their frustrations, worries, inspirations and visions for the future.” Some of the key results from that include:
- Only 1% of designers say their clients always have a clear vision of what they want for a design project.
- 45% of design pros say that “staying on budget” is a top worry in their line of work, followed by “ensuring their project quality is up to their company’s standards” (26%), “finding and retaining good employees” (25%), “meeting deadlines” (23%) and “managing multiple projects” (20%).
- 48% of design pros say their business/company is not active on social media. For those that are, 46% say their business/company is actively engaged on Facebook, followed by Instagram (28%), and Pinterest (17%).
- 47% of respondents use print magazines for design inspiration, followed by online magazines (39%), and social media (37%).
Finally, market research firm SEMrush (https://www.semrush.com/) looked at reno-related online searches and found, not surprisingly, that bathrooms and kitchens were the most popular rooms Canadian had queries about in February and March of last year. Bathrooms were in the lead with 9,250 average monthly searches and kitchens at 4,513. These both dwarfed other searches such as garages (with only 323 searches) and backyards (at 139.) Promisingly, they also found that searches were paired with “renovation contractor” 4,280 percent higher than “DIY renovation.”