One-quarter of European home-owners considers to purchase insulation materials online

There is a significant share of home-owners in Europe considering to buy their insulation materials online (25%). However, the majority of 52% definitely won't buy their insulation materials online. When we look at the home-owners who do buy their insulation materials online; 33% will buy at any website that offers them the best price. Another noticeable amount of 27% prefers to buy their materials via a brand manufacturer insulation website . These are some of the results from the European Home Improvement Monitor which is conducted on a monthly base among 2,000 consumers.

Different purchase preferences per country

Home-owners where asked if they would consider buying online when purchasing insulation materials. The difference in answers between the European countries is big. The UK is the country were most home-owners consider buying their isolation materials online (40%). Austria, Switzerland (7%) and France (8%) are the countries where the least people will consider that. On average 24% of the European home-owners considers to purchase insulation materials online.

Brand manufacturer or best price

The home-owners that would consider to purchase insulation material online where asked at what type of website they prefer to buy. More than a quarter (27%) prefers the website from the brand manufacturer of the insulation materials. A third of this group will simply choose any website that offers the best price. Another 18% prefer buying their insulation materials via the website of a DIY store. In the European Home Improvement Monitor the shift towards online channels is measured each month. Not only for insulation materials but also in other product categories the websites of brand manufacturers are popular among consumers. Buying from a well known brand offers a certain amount of trust. This is probably one of the main reasons for the preference for these type of websites among consumers.

About the European Home Improvement Monitor

The European residential new build market currently has limited growth potential. Due to the economic recession the new build volumes have dropped dramatically. The renovation and refurbishment sector on the other hand has become relatively important and it is expected its importance will grow. There is a lot of information available about the DIY market and the renovation market in the professional segment. However, there's no source that provides insight in the size of the total home improvement market, so both jobs done by consumers and professionals, and the main trends in this market. The European Home Improvement Monitor is the first research that monitors the market size and main trends in the European home improvement market on a continuous basis.

Each month 2,000 successful interviews are conducted across Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In addition, the regions Scandinavia and Austria-Switzerland are also included in the research. This means that 24,000 interviews are conducted among European consumers on a yearly basis. The results from this research are reported on a quarterly basis and show the development of the market in terms of purchase volume and purchase channels. Furthermore, each quarter in-depth insight is given in topics which are actual in the market.