Clothing trends may come and go, but hammers, ladders and lightbulbs never seem to go out of style. While many general and clothing retailers shuttered stores after a challenging holiday season, hardware specialty chains appear poised to continue doing good business.
Using its purchase consideration metric, a key measurement of potential sales revenue, YouGov BrandIndex crunched the data across more than 150 of the top brick and mortar national retail chains to see which ones registered significant statistical gains over one year ago.
Two of the few brands which made the cut are Ace Hardware and True Value, with the former leaping 15 spots in purchase consideration from one year ago, and the latter 18 spots. Currently, 25% of consumers would consider going to Ace Hardware the next time they’re shopping at a retailer, up three percentage points from last year, while at 16%, True Value rose two percentage points.
Hardware chains are generally centers of store employee advice and guidance for home owners, as well as compulsive purchases for repair and replacement.
Mattress Firm, which bought the national Sleepy’s chain and put it under its own name, rose 31 spots from a year ago with a current 5% purchase consideration score to make it the third brick and mortar retailer to gain by a statistically significant margin. The likely reason is beds generally have to be “road tested” in person for the best comfort and fit - something the web can’t replicate.
Purchase Consideration: Retailers
