Contractor spending habits revealed

COMPILED BY

JOHN MESENBRINK,

chief editor

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Welcome to the inaugural Contractor Purchasing Survey conducted by Phc News. We polled contractors nationally to get a pulse on their purchasing habits. Questions covered areas such as wholesaler vs. big box, foreign vs. domestic and Internet usage practices. We hope you find the results as interesting as we did.

1. We needed to get the preliminary, but necessary questions, out of the way first. Who makes the inventory purchasing decisions for your company?

Rightfully so, the owner accounted for 55%, followed by the president of the company at 30% and the general manager at 26%. Vice presidents -- 15%, foremen -- 13% and service techs -- 8% rounded out the category.

2. From the pool of contractors questioned, How many people does your company employ?

Smaller firms -- 1-5 employees -- comprised the majority of those represented with 43% responding. Six to 10 represented 22%, with 21-50 next in line with 15%. Two percent of those polled employ 100+.

3. Now we can get to the meat and potatoes of the survey with questions like, What industry-specific market is your revenue spent?

Residential plumbing led the way with 66% responding. Commercial plumbing was not that far behind with 62%. Hydronic heating came in a respectable third with 45%. Piping accumulated 37% of contractors responding.

4. What’s a contractor purchasing survey without asking, What type of inventory do you stock?

Plumbing equipment reigned supreme in this category with over half of the contractors (53%) reporting. Nearly one out of five contractors stock hydronic equipment. Power tools garnered 12% of the poll and shockingly only 6% revealed that they carry PVF.

5. Here at Phc News central, we are always interested to know where contractors get solid product information so we asked them, What are your top three sources of new product info?

Seventy-one percent, nearly three- quarters, said trade publications are where it’s at. Printed catalogs came in strong with a respectable 65% and half of those polled claimed manufacturer representatives most helpful. The Internet/manufacturer’s website tallied 36%.

6. We’ve all heard about the value of attending trade shows, but what really is the draw? According to our survey, we asked, Attending trade shows allows me to...?

See new products, of course. Seventy-eight percent claim that they travel to trade show to see what’s “hot” in new product offerings. And while at the trade show checking out the new products, it’s only logical to check out the latest trends and technology (70%). Forty-four percent attend seminars, while 34% make a purchasing decision right there on the trade show floor. Contractors looking to network comprised 31%.

7. Trying to sneak inside the minds of contractors, we asked, what influences your purchasing decision from a certain manufacturer?

Surprisingly, manufacturer support beat out price as the most popular influence. Eighty-six percent of contractors claimed that customer support was the most important factor when buying from one manufacturer to the other. Price followed with 79%. Warranty was a strong factor with 69% and loyalty to a brand or manufacturer represented 55%.

8. We’ve all had guilty pleasures, right? This question made me think of how somebody may like a certain song by a pop performer -- Brittany Spears, Christina Aguiliera, etc. -- but would never admit it some circles for fear of ridicule. Nevertheless, we asked, Do you prefer to purchase domestic or foreign products?

Hmmm, 100% of those responding said they prefer domestic products! Perhaps some don’t want to admit that they purchase foreign or it could just be that everyone prefers American-made.

9. We had to ask this follow-up, My reasons for purchasing American-made are...?

Quality led the category with 72% of the votes. Availability was second with a strong 69%. Loyalty to the good ol’ red, white and blue garnered 66% of the tallies.

10. And conversely, My reasons for purchasing foreign-made are...?

Price led this category with 51% respondents checking in and 22% claim that availability is important.

11. With the emergence of big box super warehouses, contractors still know where there bread is buttered. We asked them, Where do you prefer to purchase your products?

The local wholesaler made a strong statement by collecting 97% of the respondents. Big box is going stag to the prom with 3% of the vote.

12. And we had to ask, What are your reasons for purchasing from a wholesaler?

Creating and maintaining strong relationships -- support and product knowledge -- received 78% of the tallies. Sixty-four percent claimed that availability was the reason and 55% said price was the attraction.

13. Of those shopping at the big boxes, What are your reasons for purchasing from a big box?

For what may be the most obvious attraction from a big box, convenience took 40% of the vote. Price and availability both grabbed 22% each.

14. Can you teach an old dog new tricks? I’m not sure, but we asked contractors, Do you purchase products online?

Maybe the tide is starting to turn with 57% claiming they make an Internet transaction. Now that’s making progress. Digging deeper we asked, What are your purchasing habits online?

Forty-one percent said they purchase online infrequently and 28% opted for never. That’s 69% who do very little Internet window-shopping! Twenty-one percent keep it in moderation, while 10% purchase online all the time.