It’s a great time to be in the home improvement business. Despite a mixed economy, people continue to spend on home improvement. In 2023, home improvement sales in the United States amounted to roughly $544.6 billion. By 2027, sales in the home improvement sector are expected to reach over $600 billion.
From a marketing perspective, this puts suppliers of home goods and services in a unique position. Unlike other verticals, home improvement brands don’t need to convince consumers why they should spend. Rather, they need to guide consumers on how to spend.
Enter this year’s key trends. Unlike fads, trends have a significant and long-lasting impact on consumer behavior. They can shape buying preferences, influence product development, and drive changes in industries. Identifying trends is important for business growth and for connecting your brand to consumers. Here are the 2024 trends every home improvement marketer and brand should know.
Renovation Not Relocation
Whether you chalk it up to a housing market low on supply and high on interest rates, the reality is that many homeowners are renovating rather than relocating. This signals that the time is now to capitalize.
Homeowners are looking at their options and deciding a remodel is better than a move.
This trend amplifies the several advantages inherent to remodeling a home, with the greatest being increasing a home’s value. At a time when home equity is hitting record highs, increasing the value of a home through renovation is seen as smart business.
Even for costly upgrades, homeowners are still seeing a robust return on investment. For example, the National Association of Realtors' 2022 Remodeling Impact Report found that homeowners could recoup:
- 147% of hardwood floor refinishing costs
- 118% of new wood flooring costs
- 100% of insulation upgrade costs
We’ve established homeowners are all-in on renovation. But better yet, one renovation project usually leads to more. According to the National Association of Realtors, 86 percent of homeowners surveyed were motivated to renovate other parts of their homes after an initial home improvement project, while 84 percent were happier in their homes after an upgrade. This could signal a trend that can be used to your advantage throughout the year.
Homes Are Getting Smarter
Forget the on/off switch and the thermostat guesswork. Homes are getting smarter. Many of our creature comforts and necessities are already connected to wi-fi and powered by some level of AI-generated automation. But getting smart is not just for new builds. Smart home conversion has emerged as a hot trend in home improvement, especially for homeowners seeking to increase the value of their homes.
This year, tons of exciting smart home conversion ideas are taking hold, from smart lighting that sets the exact mood for the moment to smart speakers that curate the sound of film, TV, and music to match your field of hearing, to smart heating and cooling that increases comfort and efficiency. As new homes push the boundaries of how technology can improve our lived experience, the smart home conversion trend is expected to follow.
Homes Are Getting Greener
Sustainability continues to be top of mind in the home improvement business. As homeowners recognize that greening their home is not only better for the environment, it can be better for the wallet too. Right now, efficiency is king. Of EcoWatch’s eight recommended home improvements for 2024, many of them involve efficiency, from switching to energy-efficient light bulbs to upgrading windows and doors to more efficient models to getting rid of old appliances in favor of new, more efficient ones.
Solar remains in demand. Using reclaimed or repurposed materials for home renovation is also on trend, as is greening your property, not just your home. Plant a garden. Start a compost bin. This is a trend that will stay trending for a while.
Leveraging Trends to Connect with Consumers
Identifying trends is just the beginning. What you do with the knowledge matters, too. Leveraging this knowledge to create content that engages customers can be a key differentiator in making your brand stand out from the crowd. The best way to position your brand as a trusted expert in the field is to use content marketing that targets potential customers with informative stories they want to see. This content highlights your brand’s value proposition and can persuade consumers to spend their home improvement capital with you instead of your competitors.
Our job at the Hearst StoryStudio is help you leverage these trends. We create engaging content using a multimedia approach that tells your brand’s story. Our job is to make sure consumers choose you. Learn more about how we can help by contacting us.