Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
The show floor of the 2025 National Hardware Show (NHS) for Day 2 invited attendees to take advantage of opportunities to enhance their skills and grow their network through the NHS Conference. Tracks featured at the NHS Conference covered topics from industry trends to tech innovations, merchandising to marketing.
In The Evolution of Home Style: 10 Years of Data on Remodeling Trends with Houzz, Marine Sargsyan, head of economic research at Houzz, explored how America’s aging housing stock is shaping renovation priorities and traced the evolution of key design choices—from timeless kitchen and bathroom preferences to innovations in sustainability and universal design.
“Our data shows that transparency, clear communication and being able to meet your client needs is almost non-negotiable for them,” Sargsyan says. “Homeowners want detailed estimates, a clear vision of the outcome, where the work begins and a hassle-free process from the approvals to the payments.”
Craig Webb, president of Webb Analytics; Luca Gaudenzi, general manager of Made4DYI; and Grant Farnsworth, president and senior consultant with The Farnsworth Group took a closer look at the top trends, threats and opportunities in the home improvement industry. 
“The manufacturers we work with and colleagues we have are burning a lot of calories on contingency planning. Some have already increased their prices, and some have started just stocking up on inputs, commodities and product,” Farnsworth says. “I think they’re frustrated that where they could be out selling and developing products and working with customers to better their business, instead they’re spending a lot of executive time trying to figure out plan A, B, and C.”
In Merchandising for Impact, the Dan Tratensek, COO for the North American Hardware and Paint Association, shared the results from its 2025 Merchandising for Profit study for the first time.
“With so much uncertainty in the market with tariffs coming down, with shoppers post-COVID spending on other things and retailers really struggling to hold on to that profitability, transaction size is the easiest way to maintain sales lift,” Tratensek says “It’s all about focusing on what you can do as a retailer to increase transaction size, or in some cases maintain the increases that you’ve seen, to hang onto profits.”
In his fast-paced presentation, Craig Webb unlocked his 50 favorite management and marketing ideas and Jennifer Shaheen, founder and president of Technology Therapy Group, examined how major big-box retailers are leveraging AI to create personalized, proactive and predictive connections with their customers.
The session Marketing to Different Age Groups: Mastering the Art of Communication Across Generations focused on crafting messages and strategies that resonate with each demographic, from Boomers to Gen Z.
The Power of Storytelling panel included journalist Sal Vaglica, TV host Chip Wade, Food Network star Chuck Matteo and lifestyle expert Kathryn Emery and dove into the art of crafting a story to get attention for a brand.
How to Maximize Circularity of Returns looked at ways to improve the customer experience to reduce returns and ways to improve the returns process to increase asset recovery and options to avoid waste or landfill with returned goods.
Grilling Up a Good Time
Always a crowd favorite, the NHS Backyard was the go-to destination for everything lawn, garden, farm, ranch, outdoor living and grilling. Grill masters served up mouth-watering samples all day and the annual NHS Cook-off took place between top grilling brands and their expert chefs. As the day wound down, the live music and refreshing brews were flowing in the Backyard Beer Garden.
New this year, NHS attendees could get their grill on at the Weber Grilling Classes. Sponsored by NHS and the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS), Weber Immersive Grilling Classes provided a hands-on grilling experience led by Weber pitmasters that showcased new techniques and secret tips on elevating the grilling experience for both beginner and advanced grill enthusiasts.
In the advanced class, Master Your Grill, participants learned advanced grilling techniques, including mastering cooking times, creating perfectly-paired sauces and how to use grilling accessories. Dishes created during the class included Greek chicken kabobs, grilled zucchini planks, filets with béarnaise sauce, griddle-top scallops, grilled asparagus and pineapple upside-down skewers.
The beginner class, Hands-On Experience, shared the basics of grilling, including how to prepare and set up the grill for different cooking methods, food pairing and timing and how to use the grill to enhance flavors. Participants prepared beginner-friendly recipes, including prosciutto-wrapped asparagus with balsamic drizzle and shaved parmesan, barbecue chicken pizza and grilled pound cake with blistered strawberries.
Eddie Grundy, owner of Carthage Hardware, took part in the advanced grilling course and appreciated having fun while getting an introduction to a specific Weber grill model.
“I loved being able to test out the Weber grill; it was a really windy day but it performed so nicely,” Grundy says. “Our group had a really fun time making everything from filet mignon to scallops to roasted potatoes and asparagus.”
Catch up on the highlights from Day 1 here.
