The Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Specialists Association (KBSA) has said independent KBB retailers should view more cautious consumer spending as an opportunity rather than a threat.
The KBSA is arguing that specialist expertise becomes more valuable when household budgets are under greater scrutiny.
According to the association, recent consumer and housing market data suggests that while confidence has improved slightly, shoppers remain hesitant about making major purchases such as kitchens and bathrooms.
“It’s easy to read the current numbers and feel gloomy, but I read them very differently,” said Richard Hibbert, KBSA National Chair. “People are still planning kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms, they’re just being far more careful about how they spend.
“When someone is scrutinising every pound, the value of a trusted specialist becomes more compelling, not less.”
The latest GfK Consumer Confidence Index increased by two points to minus 23 in May, but its Major Purchase Index fell to minus 20, its lowest level since January 2025, indicating increased caution around significant spending.
Meanwhile, the RICS UK Residential Market Survey for May 2026 found new buyer enquiries were unchanged from April at a net balance of -34%, marking the first month since January that demand had not weakened further. The decline in agreed sales also levelled off.
Separately, TwentyCi’s latest Property & Homemover Report showed Q1 property transactions were 10.7% higher than the same period in 2023 and 19.2% above 2024 levels. The association said the year-on-year fall compared with 2025 reflected last year’s stamp duty deadline rather than a decline in underlying demand.
Hibbert said independent retailers are well placed to help customers avoid costly mistakes during projects.
“Our members don’t sell boxes, they solve problems,” he said. “A poorly briefed project is where budgets really get destroyed – the changes, delays and work that has to be ripped out and done again.
“Getting the brief right first time, through proper design, planning and installation, is the real economy. For anyone being sensible with their money, that’s the smart choice.”
The KBSA said its members work to its Approved Code of Conduct and are independently monitored against it.
The association is also encouraging consumers planning a project to ask retailers who will manage the project from design through to installation, how changes and delays are handled, and to request evidence of KBSA membership and its Code of Conduct.