Take a Closer Look: Discover more insights from the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) and dive deep into paint and sundry trends at PDRmag.com/hiri-paint-sundries.
As the purchase behaviors of consumers buying paint sundries has shifted, the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) provides data-backed answers about current market and customer behaviors. Continue reading to dive into the insights.
Who’s Doing the Work for Painting Projects
Increasingly, contractors have been hired to complete painting projects over the last decade. According to findings from HIRI’s 2022 Retail Selector Study, half of all projects involved a contractor in 2022, up from 38% in 2014 and 46% in 2020.
Tape and Masking Products
HIRI found in its 2021 Contractor Product Purchase Incidence study that general contractors are more inclined to order painting and masking tapes online for in-store pickup compared to specialist contractors. Generalists also make more tape and masking purchases (49 per year) compared to specialists (37 per year).
While the top supplier for this product category is still home improvement centers, 5.8% of all tape category purchases were made through online-only retailers, according to the HIRI Product Purchase Tracking Study on Paint and Sundries.
Caulking Products
According to HIRI, 76% of caulk purchases are made in-store at home improvement centers. Specialist contractors spend roughly 150% more on caulk, both in total quantity and in per purchase transactions, than general contractors.
When considered for painting projects overall, caulk is purchased more often when homeowners are preparing to do an exterior painting project (32%) versus when preparing to do an interior painting project (20%) based on findings from HIRI’s 2021 Project Decision Study.
In terms of preferred materials, silicone and latex materials take the lion’s share of the purchase incidences at 56% and 35% respectively.
Paint Sprayers and Paint Equipment
The purchase incidence of paint sprayers and spray equipment increased sharply between 2019 and 2021. Purchase incidence in 2021 was 9% compared to 3% in both 2017 and 2019. Of these purchases, 56% were paint sprayers and 44% were power rollers.
According to the 2021 results of HIRI’s Product Purchase Tracking Study, airless options were the most popular, taking 65% of the purchase share. Further, product options with 1-gallon tanks and quart-sized tanks outperformed other capacity options, with 39% and 32% of purchase share respectively.
For more insights on homeowner sentiments and behaviors driving the future of home improvement product sales, members can browse category-specific research and resources available at HIRI.org.
ABOUT Executive director of the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) oversees the institute and all of the research published by HIRI. King has spent the past 20 years in the strategy, research and advanced analytics space, holding advanced degrees in economics, statistics and business. For the last 10 years, he has been solely focused on the home improvement space, where he oversaw the strategy and research efforts of EnerBank USA.
