Blog

FEATURED BLOG

Shop Talk: Why Research Sits on Shelves (And 6 Ways to Make Sure Yours Doesn’t)

Learn how to activate market research with a practical framework that helps organizations turn customer insights into product strategy, marketing decisions, and business growth.

READ NOW
Yellow arrow pointing right

Shop Talk: Why Research Sits on Shelves (And 6 Ways to Make Sure Yours Doesn’t)

Learn how to activate market research with a practical framework that helps organizations turn customer insights into product strategy, marketing decisions, and business growth.

Read More
Product Development
Customer Usage and Attitude

The Landscaping Industry's Perfect Storm: Fewer Workers, A Splitting Market, Crowded Competition

Three data points, read together, tell a story the landscaping industry has been slow to confront. The result is a structural squeeze: a shrinking labor supply, a dense and growing competitive field, and a customer base that is diverging rather than converging. For operators, the implications are significant.

Read More
Landscaping
Lawn & Ranch
Market Fundamentals

How Contractors, Manufacturers, and Suppliers Can Win in an Uncertain Market

"Uncertainty" has become a defining characteristic of today's outdoor living, lawn and garden, and home improvement markets. It is being driven by several persistent economic and industry forces that continue to influence homeowner spending, contractor operations, and supplier strategies.

Read More
Landscaping
Customer Usage and Attitude

How To Price Home Improvement Products in a Market Where Consumers Are Increasingly Squeezed

The instinct when cost pressure arrives is to do one of two things: raise prices to protect margin, or absorb the cost and hope the market holds. Relying on either move alone is risky. In a market where brand loyalty is already being tested, a knee-jerk pricing decision will cause damage that takes years to undo. So what actually works?

Read More
Product Development

Shop Talk: NAHB on What Today's Economic Signals Mean for Housing and Home Improvement Markets

In this Shop Talk discussion, Grant Farnsworth is joined by Danushka Nanayakkara, Assistant Vice President for Forecasting at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), to examine the latest economic data and its implications for housing demand. They explore rising inflation, Federal Reserve policy expectations, mortgage rate forecasts, affordability challenges, household balance sheets, and the outlook for remodeling activity.

Read More
Home Improvement
Market Fundamentals
Building & Construction

7 Top Trends in the U.S. Siding Industry

The siding industry is evolving with innovations in sustainability, energy efficiency, and durability. Key trends include smart technology integration, customizable designs, higher weather resistance, and strategic partnerships, with steady growth projected through 2035. Stay ahead with insights into how manufacturers and professionals are shaping this dynamic industry.

Read More
Home Improvement
Building & Construction
Market Sizing

Top 9 Plumbing Industry Trends to Watch for in 2026

Through residential housing and commercial development, as well as strong demand in the repair and remodeling sector, plumbing fixtures show steady, long-term growth from 2026 to 2030. Meanwhile, the rise of smart technology and appliances is influencing consumer preferences and the training, knowledge and tools necessary for plumbing professionals to stay ahead of the curve in years to come.

Read More
Home Improvement
Product Development
Customer Usage and Attitude

9 Kitchen and Bath Fixtures and Faucets Market Trends in 2026

Discover 9 key trends shaping the current kitchen and bath fixtures market, from smart tech and sustainability to design and remodeling priorities.

Read More
Product Development
Market Sizing
Home Improvement
Customer Usage and Attitude
Building & Construction

How To Leverage Pricing Research to Reinforce Your Product Lines for Customer Price Sensitivity

In the best of scenarios, a good pricing strategy serves to increase your market share, prop up your brand values, and yield favorable profit margins. With the economic and financial challenges facing both industry pros and homeowners in 2026, it’s important for building products manufacturers and suppliers to include strategic pricing strategy planning as part of their product development.

Read More
Product Development
Market Sizing

How to Design Your Brand Health Tracking Program for Maximum Impact

From brand awareness to brand usage and brand satisfaction, these metrics are used to show a brand’s health and monitor change being impacted through marketing campaigns and product development. Learn how you can measure your brand’s health and performance, diagnose potential issues, and identify opportunities for growth in the building products industry through customized research.

Read More
Brand Health
Data Quality
Home Improvement
Product Development

Are You Measuring the Right Thing? Why Project Triggers Beat Generic Brand Attributes

Generic brand scores don't drive decisions, but project triggers do. Karen Barnes breaks down what really matters when building products brands measure brand, where they truly win, and why.

Read More
Brand Health
Building & Construction
Home Improvement
Lawn & Ranch

Shop Talk: 7 Key Insights on the Application of Qualitative Research for Manufacturing Brands

In this Shop Talk, Dawn McElfresh, Director of Qualitative Research with The Farnsworth Group, and Senior Project Manager Robin Graziano discuss how qualitative research is evolving and how it can provide real value to building products brands and others in the construction and home improvement space.

Read More
Qualitative Research
Customer Usage and Attitude
Home Improvement
Data Quality

How Architects and Specifiers Are Evaluating Materials in 2026

Architects have a specific lens they utilize when designing a new construction project that impacts how they research, evaluate, select and source building materials and other products. As a manufacturer, it’s important to understand what this process typically looks like.

Read More
Building & Construction
Customer Usage and Attitude
Product Development

DIY, DIFM, and PRO Home Improvement Trends from Q1 2026

From an industry standpoint, there haven't been any major shifts in how professionals and homeowners are approaching home improvement activities and purchasing products in the first quarter of 2026. Both groups are showing tempered optimism and a steady approach to home improvement, although challenges related to the costs of materials and labor and other financial uncertainties continue to persist.

Read More
Home Improvement
Customer Usage and Attitude

DIY Trends Impacting the Home Improvement Industry in 2026

We regularly study DIYers from across the U.S. about what has shifted in how they research, find, select and purchase building materials products. Here’s a look at what various generations of DIYers had to share about how they intend to go about home improvement projects in 2026.

Read More
Home Improvement
Customer Usage and Attitude

Shop Talk: 10 Forces Shaping the Home Improvement and Building Products Market in 2026

Explore the key trends shaping the building products industry in 2026, including mobility declines, labor market shifts, tariffs, M&A activity, and emerging opportunities like data center construction.

Read More
Building & Construction
Home Improvement
Lawn & Ranch
Market Sizing

How to Increase Market Share Among Younger Contractors

Millennials now form a significant portion of the professional workforce, including contractors, and Gen Zers are starting to influence the shape of the workforce, as well. Here's what to know about these segments of building products buyers and how to prepare market strategies tailored to their behaviors and preferences.

Read More
Building & Construction
Brand Health
Product Development

Building Products Marketing: How to Increase Sales Among Builders, Remodelers, and GCs in 2026-2029

Our market research team at The Farnsworth Group surveyed builders, remodelers, and general contractors across the United States to explore shifts in how industry professionals research, find, select, and purchase building materials and home improvement products. Review the latest findings:

Read More
Building & Construction
Customer Usage and Attitude

Building Product Purchasing Trends Among Specialty Trades and Installers in 2026

When preparing and adjusting your go-to-market strategies, it's important to view specialty trades and installers separately from general trades and builders. Here's the latest on the primary purchase motivations and purchase mindsets of specialty trades and installers and tips for how manufacturers can target this market segment.

Read More
Building & Construction
Home Improvement
Customer Usage and Attitude

Data Center Cooling: How Rapid Growth Is Reshaping the HVAC Industry

Data center cooling is evolving to support higher computing densities driven by AI and cloud growth. Energy efficiency, sustainability, and performance reliability are critical factors in modern infrastructure design and operational strategy. Here are key impacts of this for HVAC building product manufacturers.

Read More
Building & Construction
Market Sizing
Product Development

High-Performance Homes Move from Niche to Standard

The definition of “premium” housing is shifting from aesthetics to performance. Learn how high-performance homes – driven by energy efficiency, durability, insurance pressures, and evolving building codes – are reshaping builder priorities and influencing building product innovation.

Read More
Customer Usage and Attitude
Product Development
Building & Construction
Home Improvement

Garage Door Market Poised for Steady Growth in 2026

Through investments in residential infrastructure and demand for maintenance and repairs to extend the lifecycle of homes in the U.S., the market for garage doors is expected to have steady growth in 2026. However, there are several other variables that could impact the garage door market, from housing trends and shifting customer preferences to new technologies.

Read More
Building & Construction
Home Improvement
Customer Usage and Attitude

Impacts of 2025 HVAC Industry Trends on Current Channel Stakeholders

Here's what you need to know where the greater HVAC market is going over the next several years, by what forces, and what hurdles are preventing forward progress. Beyond general industry forecasting, you need to understand your brand’s position in the market and commit to making informed decisions during quickly changing times. Start here.

Read More
Building & Construction
Product Development
Market Sizing

Shop Talk: Ensuring Data Quality When Researching Homeowners, Tradesmen, and Specialty-Channel Audiences

Researching contractors, dealers, and specialty-channel audiences presents growing data quality challenges. This Shop Talk discussion explores why online panels fall short for pro research and how mixed-mode methodologies help ensure reliable, high-integrity insights.

Read More
Customer Usage and Attitude
Brand Health

From Automation to Interpretation: What AI Can (and Cannot) Do for Market Research

Explore how AI is transforming market research – accelerating analysis, automating workflows, and introducing new risks. Learn where AI improves efficiency, where it threatens insight quality, and why human judgment remains essential for credible, decision-ready research.

Read More
Home Improvement
Building & Construction
Lawn & Ranch

How to Determine Market Demand for a Product in the Home Improvement Industry

To stay competitive in the building materials industry, you have to keep an eye on market demand, along with emerging opportunities for growth and the sales potential of new or enhanced products. This involves identifying and responding to the trends that contribute to increased or decreased demand for various types of building products, or specific features therein.

Read More
Market Sizing
Product Development

Better Understand Your Building Product Customers

Download informative reports to keep a pulse on how your target DIYer, Contractor, Builder, and Architectural customers' purchase behaviors are changing.

Browse RESOURCES
Multiple devices including desktop, laptop, tablet, and smartphone displaying a home improvement website with resources and reports.