Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
As seen in the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) and Hardware Retailing’s 2015 Market Measure, the home improvement industry experienced favorable growth in 2015, growing nearly 5 percent above 2014.
This steady growth was also seen in research gathered by NRHA and presented at NRHA’s first-ever State of Independents Conference, sponsored by the National Hardware Show®.
According to the data, which can be seen below, more than 60 percent of retailer respondents experienced sales growth in 2015, whereas only 15 percent experienced a decrease in sales.
Applied to Retail: The housing market continues to recover, consumer confidence remains strong and the U.S. economy is on an upward swing.
While industry growth and the boost in the economy are welcome, don’t let them deter you from improving continue to find ways to improve your business. Analyze your operational areas and find ways you can improve operational efficiencies. Take advantage of buying markets to get good margins on items and find new products. Use free resources, such as the Home Sweet Home signage, to show consumers the benefits of shopping local and your independent identity.
New this month is the beginning of a new series of NRHA resources to help you use the Cost of Doing Business Study even better.
The first installment of the series focuses on improving average transaction size within your operation. The resources include a guide with tips for growing transaction size and real-world case studies of home improvement retailers who have implemented different tactics and seen results.
A short video is available to accompany the guide and is a great teaching tool to share with employees so they understand the impact they have on average transaction size.
