Adapting to an evolving home improvement industry

In an evolving home improvement market where consumer enthusiasm for large-scale DIY renovations wanes, the focus on the professional contractor segment becomes increasingly crucial for retailers. Many brands are reevaluating their current strategies and identifying new ways to capture this lucrative, stable segment in order to drive both growth and resilience amidst changing consumer behavior.

For example, The Home Depot's recent acquisition of SRS Distribution highlights a strategic pivot towards seizing growth opportunities in the construction and building sector. This move not only broadens the retailer's customer base but also aligns with the industry's shift towards catering to sectors less affected by consumer spending fluctuations. Through SRS Distribution's extensive network, The Home Depot aims to capture a significant portion of the professional contractor market, a segment that represents about half of existing Home Depot sales. This strategy promises to drive growth and bolster resilience in a transforming economic landscape.

But while home improvement retailers recognize the need to adapt to a dynamic market, doing so is often easier said than done. Defining a new business strategy requires in-depth market research, data analysis, and informed decision-making. Fortunately, location intelligence solutions like MapDash™ are available to provide retail brands with the authoritative data, turnkey analytics tools, and automated reporting templates needed to drive strategic growth.

Unlocking local market insights with MapDash

MapDash equips hardware and home improvement businesses to precisely target B2B opportunities in their proximity by integrating advanced geospatial analytics with localized sales, demographics, and competitive intelligence data for a holistic market view. Understanding local demographic shifts, developmental projects, and consumer spending trends enables businesses to customize their offerings to the local market's needs, staying ahead of mere trend reactions.

What’s more, MapDash transcends traditional market analysis by providing sales teams and decision-makers with detailed visualizations and real-time data for conducting immediate gap analyses. This is essential for revealing unexplored SKU opportunities that resonate with each retailer's product lineup and the local market's unique demands.

MapDash's ability to deliver hyper-local insights for identifying and tapping into B2B opportunities represents a pivotal advancement for the hardware and home improvement industry. While other location intelligence solutions require extensive training to use and involve complex data science workflows, MapDash is designed for anyone to leverage. Users simply need to select preconfigured datasets from a robust data library to visualize on an interactive map. These datasets can be further explored using intuitive location analysis tools - no coding required. Plus, MapDash’s preset infographic and report templates make it easy to share results with stakeholders to streamline growth discussions and decision-making.

A proven track record of success

As the hardware and home improvement industry's B2B sector evolves, the emphasis on localized, data-driven decision-making grows. MapDash is at the helm of this evolution, providing essential tools for businesses to adeptly navigate market complexities. For instance, one home improvement firm leveraged the platform to swiftly refine its product offerings across various locations, achieving a notable uplift in market penetration.

Datastory frequently advises home improvement retailers on the strategic use of location intelligence, so MapDash has been fine-tuned to cater to this diverse market. Hyper-local data is available at a national scale, including store foot traffic, consumer lifestyle segmentation, market opportunity scores, and more. By employing the detailed data home improvement retailers rely on most to identify lucrative B2B opportunities, businesses can secure enduring growth and competitiveness.

Data-driven B2B decision-making for a more resilient future

With the acquisition of SRS Distribution, The Home Depot has significantly expanded its capabilities to serve the professional contractor market, emphasizing the importance of targeting this segment for growth. SRS Distribution's integration into The Home Depot's offerings will enable the company to provide a more comprehensive range of products and services to professional contractors, further establishing The Home Depot as a leading specialty trade distributor across multiple verticals . This strategic move, coupled with the utilization of location intelligence tools like MapDash, sets a new benchmark for how retailers can adapt to and capitalize on the evolving demands of the B2B sector in the home improvement industry.

To learn more about MapDash and how it can empower your next B2B decision, get in touch with the Datastory team.