A growing number of tradespeople are experiencing homeowners wanting to purchase their own
building materials for property improvement projects, according to new research.
Nearly half (48%) of tradespeople that were interviewed for the Jewson Trade Trends 2023 report
agreed that homeowners are now more likely to want to buy at least some materials and supplies
themselves – up from 40% in 2022.
However, only 5% of tradespeople are in favour of homeowners buying all the materials for their
project. The majority (79%) of tradespeople said they prefer to buy their own and 16% said they
wanted to buy at least some of the materials themselves.
Karl Nicholson, Founder of K Design and Build, said: “We won’t work on projects unless we’re able
to source and buy the materials ourselves as we want to make sure that they’re the right
specification and quality. Consumers who want to get their own materials are often very price
conscious so will be looking for the cheapest way of carrying out their projects. However, this
means that they can’t necessarily guarantee the quality.”
Simon White, Founder of White Space Construction, said: “On the whole, our customers still
expect us to purchase materials as they know we’ll be able to get better prices than they can. In
the few instances when customers want to buy their own products, I tell them that although we’ll
guarantee the fit and installation, we can’t guarantee the products themselves because we’ve not
sourced them.”
Commenting on the findings, Lisa Young, Commercial Director, Jewson, said: “It can be a divisive
question – should homeowners bypass tradespeople to buy materials themselves? Some
homeowners may want to see materials in person and have control of what they’re spending, and
price fluctuations might also lead to them wanting to research the best costs. However, often
homeowners don’t have access to the choice, quality and prices that tradespeople do. Some of
our customers have also voiced frustrations that homeowners might not order materials and
products that are as readily available, leading to delays on site.”
The research, which saw over 500 tradespeople across the UK questioned, is available to view
online.
