The Farnsworth Contractor Index for Q4 2025 shows contractors remain confident about near-term work, even as revenue expectations and growth soften compared to last year. Overall confidence in securing new business over the coming six months scored 8.3 out of …
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Retail sales saw strong year-over-year growth in November, with the first half of the month posting results on track to meet the National Retail Federation’s spending forecast, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor. “Retail sales showed healthy year-over-year gains in November …
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During its 2025 Investor and Analyst Conference, The Home Depot recently discussed key priorities and a preliminary outlook for 2026. The Home Depot reaffirmed its fiscal 2025 guidance and shared a preliminary outlook for fiscal 2026 that included forecasted comparable sales …
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The latest data from the United States Census Bureau’s Housing Vacancy Survey show the homeownership rate rose to 65.3%. Despite this quarterly increase, the trend continues to reflect significant affordability challenges. With mortgage interest rates remaining elevated and housing supply …
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Independent retailers are coming into 2026 with a cooling renovation market and a cost-sensitive customer with a shift toward DIY. Dave King, executive director of the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI), says those pressures hit independent retailers differently than big-box …
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The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a vote of 9-3, a smaller margin than typically seen. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the panel of Federal Reserve officials responsible for setting monetary policies, dropped the interest rate range to …
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Friedman’s Home Improvement, which operates four locations around Northern California, announced two new appointments to its leadership team. Sushil Singh has been appointed as vice president and Jake Wilson takes on the role of vice president of merchandising and replenishment. …
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Combining AI chat, task management and operations analytics—tied directly to a retailers POS inventory—FastQuery is an AI copilot built for independent home improvement retailers. FastQuery helps store associates quickly find product information like aisle numbers, price and comparable items using voice …
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