Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
An important partner of NHPA, the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) hosted its annual Summit in Chicago. The 2025 Home Improvement Insights Summit sent attendees home loaded with practical best practices based in current data and research.
On Day 1, HIRI executive director Dave King welcomed attendees to take in all of the data presented and glean insights from the industry experts who took the stage.
“The Summit is not meant to just show the research,” King says. “It is here to fill in the holes with insights from experts on all of these different topics that help supplement the research.”
National Association of Home Builders assistant vice president for forecasting and analysis Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington shared the overall U.S. and world macroeconomics data that is impacting the home improvement industry. According to Nanayakkara-Skillington, the U.S. will experience much slower economic growth at around 2% with a 30% risk for a recession and homeownership is at the lowest rate since 2019 and remains below the 25-year average.
“The majority of population growth comes from immigration, and the latest immigration crackdowns lead to a lower population, which will directly impact the housing market,” Nanayakkara-Skillington says. “Housing stock is over 40 years old and with Boomers aging in place, it will be good for the remodeling market but bad for the housing market.”
Future editor Matt Carmichael shared a shift in how the American dream is impacting the home improvement market in a big way with people delaying major life milestones from their 20s to their 30s.
“We need to listen to the shifts and the signals and take in as much research in as many different ways as we can,” Carmichael says. “The American view is shifting but also necessary. It’s the thing we are aspiring to do, and there’s a gap there in terms of whether or not we can get it. But you can help people achieve those dreams and earn their trust.”
The day included a panel discussion on multi-channel marketing moderated by Amanda Williams, communications planning and influencer brand marketing senior director for Wray Ward. Panelists included Daniela Morales, group brand marketing manager for Assa Abloy; Steve Booz, VP of marketing and product management with Westlake Corp; and Jon Zasiebida, global brand director for Robert Bosch Tools.
Rounding out the speaker line-up were Zonda principal Todd Tomalak, The Associated General Contractors of America chief economist Ken Simonson and Zillow senior economist Kara Ng.
Day 2 welcomed Michael Zdinak, S&P Global director; Michael Anschel, OA Design+Build+Architecture principal; Wade Weissmann, Wade Weissmann Architecture president; Grant Farnsworth, The Farnsworth Group president.
Day 2’s panel looked at navigating the challenges of serving both DIY and pro customers and included Gerardo Soto, VP of media and sports marketing at Lowe’s Companies; Allison Flatjord, VP of marketing and ecommerce at Do it Best Corp.; and Deidre Myers, director of market intelligence for Ferguson Enterprises.
“When it comes to serving pros, relationships are so important, that is always rated one of the most important things,” Flatjord says. “So for us, acquisition definitely drives our interest in penetration of the pro market. With more doors, we can serve more pros, so getting our footprint out there has made a big different in how we can serve them.”
Todd Tatham, insights and knowledge director for WD-40 Company, attended the HIRI Summit to get insights into macro trends, shifts in category spend and generational evolution of customers.
“Our best users are over the age of 55, so when we look at consumers 35 and under, they no longer learn about products by being at the retail shelf, they learn about the products by being online,” Tatham says. “So I wanted to learn more about the role of social media and how that’s important for those generations and important for our business.”
From his perspective in sales for a market research firm, Scott Bergin, senior sales director for Numerator, says he found it amazing how much of the data presented used recall and claimed behaviors.
“Another big takeaway was the importance of major life milestones that result in the need for moving or home improvement project activities,” Bergin says. “Getting married, having children and new homeownership drives so much of the purchases within home improvement.”
