European HVAC Market: Key trends

Over the past 2 decades USP Marketing Consultancy has conducted continuous market research in the Construction, DIY and Installation industries.

By Dirk Hoogenboom
28 Oct 2016
Installation,
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Over the past 2 decades USP Marketing Consultancy has conducted continuous market research in the Construction, DIY and Installation industries. During these years, we have accumulated a lot of knowledge through our dedicated and multi client researches. Today we would like to share some of our thoughts on the HVAC market

One topic that comes up frequently during my talks with our clients is the usage of the private labels by the HVAC installers. Generally speaking private labels are most used when it comes to pipes and fittings, fixing products and so on. There is not much difference perceived between manufacturers brands and private labels in these categories. The usage of private labels stay the same or grow slightly. For more expensive products, generally speaking, the installers prefer manufacturers brands

Installations are getting more complicated and interconnected. Does this have an influence on the decision making power of the installers? We already see architects losing influence in some areas and contractors & engineering companies gaining influence.

Mainly in the (early) design phase of the project, the knowledge and skills of planners / consultants is used more often.  Most installers (in France, the Netherlands, Poland and Belgium)  acknowledging this development. As we see more and more complex installations, more parties are getting involved. However, installers perceive that they are not losing influence yet

We also have more information on how influential the European HVAC installer is when it comes to brand and product choice.

In the home improvement market online buying is a huge trend. But what is the role of pure online shops in the installation sector? Generally speaking, we found surprisingly high numbers, with the top spot for English installers (40% of installers buying regularly or occasionally at pure online players). For the other countries this number is considerably lower (from 14 to 24% in the different countries).

However, share of wallet is still quite low. In UK it’s only 6% of the total share of wallet, but the potential is there! Full picture of the purchase channels for France can be found here.

These are just some of the trends in the market we see, in case of any questions feel free to contact me at hoogenboom@usp-mc.nl