Consumers are spending dramatically more on their bathrooms than at any time in the past nine years, according to the latest research from the BMA.
This trend was highlighted in a recent survey of more than 500 consumers by Trend Monitor and the Bathroom Manufacturer’s Association (BMA). After being stable at around £4.5k between 2013 and 2018, the average budget for a bathroom refurbishment has increased by 61% to about £7.5k. It encompasses all sorts of consumers and covers fixtures, fittings and installation costs.The survey included all types of consumers and took into account fixings, fittings and installation costs.
BMA CEO Tom Reynolds suggested that the survey results may suggest “a paradigm shift in consumers’ thinking when they purchase a new bathroom”.
Reynolds believes that the dramatic increase in consumer budgets may be down to increased supply and labour cost, but he confirmed that a significant driver in the figures was a “growing number of consumers pursuing higher-end projects”.
The survey also highlighted that many consumers put installers at the top of their list of preferred research methods, although he acknowledged that more people were doing research online before visiting a physical store.
The BMA survey also showed that consumers are not fully taking advantage of the services of professional designers for their bathroom projects. It revealed that nearly half of new bathroom installations were carried out from homeowner’s existing layouts or design. Around a quarter were designed by fitters and the remaining quarter were done by professional designers.
Another interesting statistic to emerge from the survey was that more than a third of consumers purchased their bathroom products across multiple retail outlets and that a quarter of independent bathrooms retailers’ customers were also shopping around, identifying builders merchants as the big winners.