Neil Cooper-Smith, senior analyst, Business Pilot
The Business Pilot Barometer offers monthly analysis of the key trends defining window and door retail. It draws on real industry data collated by Business Pilot, the cloud-based business management tool developed by installers, for installers.
March delivered another shock to the UK economy as inflation jumped from the 10.1% seen in February to 10.4% in March. This reversed the downward trajectory and triggered another 0.25% increase in the base rate from the Bank of England.
Inflation remains at a 40-year high. Wages, which increased 5.7% in the three months to January, are falling behind. Despite this, consumers are continuing to spend, which is reflected in figures for window and door retail sales in March.
Sales were up 2% on February, while average order values jumped from £4,641 to £5,234 – a 13% uplift. Leads were marginally down. Year-on-year, the figures are also positive, with sales up 4% compared to March 2022, and average order values up 5%.
Beyond the headlines, this is consistent with other areas of the home improvement sector. Kingfisher, which owns B&Q and Screwfix, reported a sharp decline in profits last month, after homeowners reportedly scaled back on home improvement projects. Its sales were down 0.9%. However, big ticket items including kitchens and bathrooms remained broadly flat, according to Kingfisher.
Total like-for-like sales were 2.1% lower in the last year for Kingfisher but still 15.6% above pre-Covid-19-pandemic levels. One pound of every £10 it made last year came from energy-saving products.
The parallels with our own sector are striking. The market in Q1 has been flat. It is down compared to the Covid boom but still around 11% ahead of where it was pre-pandemic. And energy efficiency is the key driver. The government may have extended support, and wholesale energy prices may be coming down, but energy prices remain at historically high levels.
Electricity prices increased by 67% in the 12 months to February while gas rose by 129%, taking average bills beyond the £2,500 a year mark. New figures released by the Office for National Statistics suggest that the impact of rising energy prices is causing people to change their behaviour over winter.
According to the ONS, more than half of adults (54%) are using less fuel in their homes because of the rising cost of living. This may go some way to explaining the uptick in average order values seen last month, as homeowners shift spend to whole-house replacements.
Even as energy prices come down, the psychological scarring that it has left in consumer psyche makes it likely that energy efficiency will remain a key driver of window and door sales for a very long time to come. As always, against this context, understanding where your leads are coming from and maximising conversions is going to be key.
With a sophisticated lead tracking capability, lead heat mapping and a sales pipeline management tool, Business Pilot helps you maximise leads and manage their conversion. It then simplifies project delivery, maximising your profitability on every job. For more information, visit businesspilot.co.uk.
