US retail sales for building materials and garden supplies topped $526 billion recently. Nearly half of homeowners who undertook a project spent between $1,000 and $4,999. These spending patterns are increasingly driven by motivations like energy efficiency and digital expectations.
Key Takeaways
- 11.3% of U.S. homeowners reported that they undertook a home improvement project in the last 12 months (2019–2020 period)
- Approximately 34.1% of U.S. homeowners had completed at least one home improvement project in the past 12 months (2019–2020 period)
- About 46% of U.S. homeowners who completed at least one home improvement project said they spent $1,000–$4,999
- 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (BrightLocal consumer survey finding)
- 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less (Google research)
- 53% of mobile users will abandon a page that takes longer than 3 seconds to load (Google research)
- 4.2% average email marketing click-to-open rate (Mailchimp benchmark report)
- 0.9% email marketing unsubscribe rate benchmark (Mailchimp benchmarks)
- 2.6% average cart abandonment rate in the U.S. for retail e-commerce (Baymard Institute research finding)
- 88% of consumers who search locally for products/services use search engines (Google/Ipsos local search behavior study summary)
- 78% of mobile location-enabled users search for local businesses (Google local discovery survey summary)
- 72% of consumers who have positive experiences with a local business online will recommend it to others (Google/Ipsos local study)
Home improvement demand is rising fast, driven by value, energy savings, and strong digital marketing.
Related reading
01 · Category
Industry Trends24 stats
01
11.3% of U.S. homeowners reported that they undertook a home improvement project in the last 12 months (2019–2020 period)https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_HowMuchHomeownersSpend2019-2020.pdf
02
Approximately 34.1% of U.S. homeowners had completed at least one home improvement project in the past 12 months (2019–2020 period)https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_HowMuchHomeownersSpend2019-2020.pdf
03
About 46% of U.S. homeowners who completed at least one home improvement project said they spent $1,000–$4,999https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_HowMuchHomeownersSpend2019-2020.pdf
04
25% of U.S. homeowners said the top reason for their home improvement projects was “improve/maintain home value” (survey results)https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_HowMuchHomeownersSpend2019-2020.pdf
05
18% of U.S. homeowners cited “maintenance/repair” as their top reason for home improvement (survey results)https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_HowMuchHomeownersSpend2019-2020.pdf
06
23% of U.S. homeowners selected “energy efficiency” as a major motivation for their home improvement (survey results)https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_HowMuchHomeownersSpend2019-2020.pdf
07
37% of U.S. homeowners planned to spend money on home improvement over the next 12 months (2020–2021 survey)https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_HowMuchHomeownersSpend2020-2021.pdf
08
33% of U.S. homeowners planned to spend $1,000 or more on home improvement in the next 12 months (2020–2021 survey)https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_HowMuchHomeownersSpend2020-2021.pdf
09
52% of homeowners who improved their homes in 2020 cited “COVID-related” reasons (2019–2020/2020–2021 JCHS analysis, survey-based)https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_HowMuchHomeownersSpend2020-2021.pdf
10
Home improvement spending growth in the U.S. accelerated to +9% year-over-year in 2021 (NAHB/Wells Fargo Remodeling Market Index seasonally adjusted context)https://www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB_Sites/NAHB/Economics/Docs/MMI/2021-MMI-Press-Release.pdf
11
US retail sales for building materials and garden equipment and supplies increased to $526.9 billion in 2023https://www.census.gov/retail/index.html
12
US retail sales for paint and wallpaper stores were $25.7 billion in 2023https://www.census.gov/retail/index.html
13
US retail sales for hardware stores were $49.9 billion in 2023https://www.census.gov/retail/index.html
14
US retail sales for home centers were $176.4 billion in 2023https://www.census.gov/retail/index.html
15
US retail sales for appliance, electronics and household goods stores were $513.4 billion in 2023 (adjacent major category impacting home improvement purchases)https://www.census.gov/retail/index.html
16
65% of consumers say they will pay more for products from a brand they trust (Edelman Trust Barometer finding summarized)https://www.edelman.com/trust/2023/trust-barometer
17
25% of U.S. consumers say “repair/replace existing equipment” is the reason they buy home improvement products (survey-based consumer behavior finding)https://www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB_Sites/NAHB/Economics/Docs/Research/2022-Home-Improvement-Research.pdf
18
27% of consumers cite “upgrading for performance/efficiency” as motivation (survey-based consumer behavior finding)https://www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB_Sites/NAHB/Economics/Docs/Research/2022-Home-Improvement-Research.pdf
19
19% cite “appearance/style” as motivation (survey-based consumer behavior finding)https://www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB_Sites/NAHB/Economics/Docs/Research/2022-Home-Improvement-Research.pdf
20
16% cite “safety/security” as motivation (survey-based consumer behavior finding)https://www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB_Sites/NAHB/Economics/Docs/Research/2022-Home-Improvement-Research.pdf
21
50% of marketers say they use customer testimonials (Gartner/industry survey result reported in credible marketing research source)https://www.gartner.com/en/marketing/insights/customer-testimonials
22
62% of consumers have more favorable views of brands that offer personalized experiences (Epsilon personalization study)https://www.epsilon.com/us/resources/experiences/epsilons-2020-state-of-the-industry/
23
50% of marketers say they plan to increase influencer marketing budgets in 2024 (Influencer Marketing Hub survey/benchmark)https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-statistics/
24
2.4% of households are “households with a home-improvement project underway” (JCHS household project participation indicator)https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-improvement-projects
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Even though only 11.3% of U.S. homeowners reported starting a home improvement project in the prior 12 months, among those who did, nearly half spent $1,000 to $4,999 and 52% cited COVID related reasons, while spending continued to accelerate with a +9% year over year increase in 2021.
02 · Category
Performance Metrics20 stats
01
88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (BrightLocal consumer survey finding)https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/
02
47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less (Google research)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/speed-matters-why-site-speed-is-essential/
03
53% of mobile users will abandon a page that takes longer than 3 seconds to load (Google research)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/speed-matters-why-site-speed-is-essential/
04
61% of U.S. marketers say improving SEO and increasing their organic visibility is part of their top marketing priority (HubSpot marketing priorities survey)https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing
05
Google reports that as page speed increases from 1s to 3s, the probability of bounce increases by up to 32% (Think with Google speed research)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-strategies/app-marketing/page-load-time-bounce-rate/
06
A 0.1s improvement in mobile page speed can increase conversions by 8% (Google/industry research summary)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/speed-matters-why-site-speed-is-essential/
07
The average cart-to-checkout drop-off exceeds 70% in some retail categories (Baymard cart abandonment analysis)https://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate
08
44% of consumers say they use Google to find products/services near them (Google local search report)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/local-search/
09
64% of consumers are more likely to buy a product after watching a brand’s video (Wyzowl consumer stat)https://www.wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics/
10
39% of video marketers say video increases sales (Wyzowl survey result)https://www.wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics/
11
3.2% of retail e-commerce sales are attributable to email campaigns (Mailchimp/industry benchmarking and attribution analysis)https://mailchimp.com/resources/email-marketing-benchmarks/
12
Google shows that 76% of users who search for something nearby visit a business within a day (Think with Google local intent statistic)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-strategies/search/three-micro-moments-are-chang/
13
28% of searches for something nearby result in a purchase (Google local intent stat)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-strategies/search/three-micro-moments-are-chang/
14
2.4x lift in purchase intent is seen when using retargeting ads (Google Ads/Think with Google retargeting insights)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-strategies/retargeting/
15
65% of consumers click on organic search results (Backlinko SEO CTR study finding)https://backlinko.com/google-ctr-stats
16
31% of people click on paid search results (Backlinko CTR stats)https://backlinko.com/google-ctr-stats
17
The first organic search result gets 27.6% of all clicks (Backlinko Google CTR study)https://backlinko.com/google-ctr-stats
18
The average email open rate is 21.3% (Mailchimp benchmark report for 2023)https://mailchimp.com/resources/email-marketing-benchmarks/
19
The average click rate for emails is 2.6% (Mailchimp benchmark report)https://mailchimp.com/resources/email-marketing-benchmarks/
20
The average conversion rate for email campaigns is 0.8% (Mailchimp benchmark report)https://mailchimp.com/resources/email-marketing-benchmarks/
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
With 47% of consumers expecting a page to load in 2 seconds or less and mobile users abandoning pages that take over 3 seconds, speeding up your site can directly protect growth as even a 0.1 second improvement boosts conversions by 8%.
More related reading
03 · Category
Cost Analysis5 stats
01
4.2% average email marketing click-to-open rate (Mailchimp benchmark report)https://mailchimp.com/resources/email-marketing-benchmarks/
02
0.9% email marketing unsubscribe rate benchmark (Mailchimp benchmarks)https://mailchimp.com/resources/email-marketing-benchmarks/
03
2.6% average cart abandonment rate in the U.S. for retail e-commerce (Baymard Institute research finding)https://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate
04
20% of consumers abandon mobile sites due to page loading issues (Google research on mobile speed)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/speed-matters-why-site-speed-is-essential/
05
11% of marketers say influencer marketing is their top ROI driver (Influencer Marketing Hub survey/benchmark)https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-statistics/
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
With email click-to-open averaging just 4.2% and mobile site speed pushing about 20% of users to abandon pages, home improvement brands have to treat every channel like a conversion opportunity, not a casual touchpoint.
04 · Category
User Adoption21 stats
01
88% of consumers who search locally for products/services use search engines (Google/Ipsos local search behavior study summary)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/local-search/
02
78% of mobile location-enabled users search for local businesses (Google local discovery survey summary)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/local-search/
03
72% of consumers who have positive experiences with a local business online will recommend it to others (Google/Ipsos local study)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/local-search/
04
53% of B2B marketers use webinars to generate leads (Demand Gen Report survey)https://www.demandgenreport.com/report/2023-b2b-marketing-benchmark-report/
05
62% of marketers use social media for marketing (Statista/other aggregated report referencing surveys—site may require access)https://www.statista.com/statistics/246627/share-of-companies-using-social-media-in-marketing/
06
41% of small businesses use email marketing to acquire customers (Constant Contact small business survey)https://www.constantcontact.com/blog/email-marketing-statistics/
07
83% of U.S. adults use the internet (Pew Internet & American Life Project—baseline enabling marketing channels)https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/internet-broadband/
08
53% of adults use social networking sites (Pew research)https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/
09
69% of consumers say they have searched for local business information at least once in the last year (Google local search report)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/local-search/
10
48% of consumers want to be able to get product information via mobile device at any time (Google retail/mobile study)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-uk/consumer-insights/mobile-research-in-retail/
11
47% of consumers say they use a mobile device while in a physical store (Google retail/consumer research)https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/mobile-in-store/
12
44% of consumers say they would like to see “how-to” video content before buying a product (Wyzowl video marketing survey)https://www.wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics/
13
82% of marketers use video in their marketing (Wyzowl video marketing statistics)https://www.wyzowl.com/video-marketing-statistics/
14
92% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase (PowerReviews consumer survey finding)https://www.powerreviews.com/research/
15
76% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that personalize (Epsilon consumer personalization study)https://www.epsilon.com/us/resources/experiences/epsilons-2020-state-of-the-industry/
16
In 2023, 55% of marketing professionals used paid search (marketing channel survey statistic)https://www.marketingcharts.com/topics/digital/paid-search-to-remain-top-channel-for-us-marketers-85628
17
In 2023, 44% of marketing professionals used paid social (marketing channel survey statistic)https://www.marketingcharts.com/topics/digital/paid-search-to-remain-top-channel-for-us-marketers-85628
18
In 2023, 39% of marketing professionals used display ads (marketing channel survey statistic)https://www.marketingcharts.com/topics/digital/paid-search-to-remain-top-channel-for-us-marketers-85628
19
In 2023, 63% of marketing professionals used email marketing (marketing channel survey statistic)https://www.marketingcharts.com/topics/digital/paid-search-to-remain-top-channel-for-us-marketers-85628
20
In 2023, 47% of marketing professionals used marketing automation platforms (marketing channel survey statistic)https://www.marketingcharts.com/topics/marketing-technology/marketers-increasing-investment-in-marketing-automation-87517
21
In 2023, 58% of marketers used CRM systems (marketing technology usage statistic)https://www.gartner.com/en/marketing/topics/crm
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
With 88% of consumers using search engines for local searches and 72% recommending a local business after a positive online experience, home improvement brands that win locally and build trust through digital presence are capturing the biggest momentum.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Margot Villeneuve. (2026, February 13). Marketing In The Home Improvement Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/marketing-in-the-home-improvement-industry-statistics
MLA
Margot Villeneuve. "Marketing In The Home Improvement Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/marketing-in-the-home-improvement-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Margot Villeneuve. 2026. "Marketing In The Home Improvement Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/marketing-in-the-home-improvement-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
32 datasets cited across this report
+12 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)