Blog

FEATURED BLOG

11 Market Trends & Category Signals for Building Product Brands from IBS/KBIS 2026

This year, conversations at IBS/KBIS 2026 were grounded in realism. Across discussions with manufacturers, retailers, builders, and other attendees there was consensus: 2026 is expected to be flat to very low growth for the building products industry. Here are 11 key market and category signals that should be shaping your strategies for the year ahead.

READ NOW
Yellow arrow pointing right

11 Market Trends & Category Signals for Building Product Brands from IBS/KBIS 2026

This year, conversations at IBS/KBIS 2026 were grounded in realism. Across discussions with manufacturers, retailers, builders, and other attendees there was consensus: 2026 is expected to be flat to very low growth for the building products industry. Here are 11 key market and category signals that should be shaping your strategies for the year ahead.

Read More
Building & Construction
Home Improvement

Attainable Housing Isn’t a Trend Problem. It’s a Systems Problem.

For years, housing affordability has been framed as a short-term market disruption driven by rates, inflation, or supply chain shocks. The data tells a different story. What we are experiencing today is not a cyclical blip, but a structural imbalance between what households can afford and what the market has been built to deliver.

Read More
Building & Construction

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

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

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

Why to Conduct Market Research Before Your Next Product Line Review

You want to provide a reason—backed by data—why distributors should continue to carry your SKUs. The most effective way to prepare for a product line review is to conduct pertinent market research beforehand so you can successfully negotiate for the outcomes you want.

Read More
Product Development
Brand Health

Looking Ahead: 10 DIY Statistics Shaping the Home Improvement Industry (2026-2028)

In order to access the DIY market, it’s important to understand its demographics, as well as the motivations, behaviors and trends influencing different groups within the market. Let’s unpack this group of home improvement product buyers.

Read More
Home Improvement
Customer Usage and Attitude
Market Sizing

How Much Does Primary Market Research Cost in 2026

In general, you should plan to spend about $20,000 to $50,000 for a qualitative or quantitative custom market research project. Read more for the factors that contribute to overall market research cost.

Read More
Brand Health
Market Sizing
Customer Usage and Attitude
Product Development

Construction Industry Outlook for Builders in 2026

Heading into 2026, the residential building and home improvement market is going through a period of being fundamentally sound but operationally strained. Several of the current underlying demand drivers in the market remain intact.

Read More
Building & Construction
Customer Usage and Attitude

2026 Business Planning Priorities for Cross-Functional Product Teams

As your internal teams strategize about product development, marketing efforts, and channel selections for the upcoming year, our team at The Farnsworth Group recommends you make the following measures a priority:

Read More
Product Development
Customer Usage and Attitude

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.