PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, May 11, 2006 – Men have traditionally been the driving force behind home improvement projects. While women may have been involved in the decision-making process, in most cases they would send men out to make the actual purchase. According to leading consumer and retail information company, The NPD Group, women are not only playing a larger role in the decision-making process around home improvement, they are actually making purchases more often.
While men still dominate purchasing of tools and power equipment, women account for more than half of the sales of storage/organization products and almost half of the sales of lighting, paint, kitchen/bath, lawn/garden, flooring, and safety. In fact, women represent forty-four percent of “do-it-yourselfers” and fifty-one percent of people that usually hire professionals for home improvement projects.
Additionally, the increase of female consumers in the home improvement industry is most significant in the East South Central region of the United States, where Hurricane Katrina caused so much damage last year. While men and women both represent a similar percentage of sales in every other region of the country, women in the East South Central region are accounting for three times as many home improvement sales as male consumers.
Lowes was the number one retailer of choice for women shopping for home improvement products, with Home Depot as a close second. Stores like Home Depot, Ace Hardware and lumber/building supply retailers attract more male consumers.
“It’s important to acknowledge the impact women continue to make in the home improvement industry,” says Mark Delaney, Director, The NPD Group. He adds, “Now that a growing number of manufacturers and retailers have focused more marketing efforts on women, they are capitalizing on this growing trend."
About The NPD Group, Inc.
Since 1967 The NPD Group has provided reliable and comprehensive consumer and
retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,400 manufacturers
and retailers rely on NPD to help them better understand their customers, product
categories, distribution channels and competition in order to help guide their
businesses. Information from The NPD Group is available for the following major
vertical sectors: apparel, appliances, automotive, beauty, consumer electronics,
food and beverage, foodservice, footwear, home improvement, housewares, imaging,
information technology, music, software, toys, video games, and wireless. For
more information, visit www.npd.com.