Women Gaining Influence in Home Improvement Market
Las Vegas, March 2--A growing number of women are nailing down their influence in the world of home improvement, accounting for 35.8 percent of the total residential repair and remodeling purchases in 2004, a significant jump from 28.6 percent in 1995.
"Women are very influential and powerful consumers when it comes to home improvement projects around the house," said Rob Cappiello, industry vice president of the National Hardware Show. "In addition, single women are purchasing new homes at twice the rate as single men, which contributes significantly to their increased involvement in do-it-yourself home improvement projects."
Three-quarters of American women ages 25 to 49 say they are doing more home-improvement projects today than five years ago, and a solid 80 percent plan to tackle at least one home-related project in the next year. Planned projects range from the relatively simple paint touch-up to more strenuous tasks like replacing a door or installing a light fixture.
As the number of female homeowners specifying brands and purchasing supplies for their renovation projects continues to grow, women are influencing manufacturers and retailers to look for new ways to cater to their specific needs.
Tool companies, such as Barbara K, are differentiating their products to fit a woman’s hand and other physical attributes with ergonomic, lighter-weight designs that don’t compromise the strength of the tool. On the retail side, home centers are specifically targeting women in their advertisements.
According to the Opinion Research Corporation, before starting a home improvement project, nearly half of women seek assistance at a local home center or hardware store, or watch home improvement programs on television. Retailers and broadcasters are leveraging this trend and have begun structuring their marketing campaigns with more women-oriented advertising and programming.
Women seem to be getting the message: of the $165 billion spent on home improvements and repairs in 2001, a resounding 80 percent was instigated by women, according to the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI). In addition, the number of home purchases by women rose 49 percent from 606,000 in 1989 to 903,000 in 2003. Within the first year of ownership, single women homeowners spend almost $9,000 on home improvement projects.
The same 2003 HIRI study of 15 specific home improvement projects found that 56 percent of the projects were initiated with the involvement of the female head of household and 43 percent were by the female head of household alone. Of the 15 projects, interior painting had the highest initiation by women at 74 percent and the least desired project was electrical repair at 38 percent.
As chic as toolbelts and work gloves are, what exactly is the cause of this increasing interest in hammers and nails? According to the Opinion Research, the number one reason women took on home improvement jobs was to save money. Why hire a contractor when you can do it yourself? There is a direct correlation: as the number of woman-headed households grows, so does the number of women wielding a power tool.
