Market Insights

An article about a hardware store that eliminated the penny from point-of-sale transactions generated several comments from readers. Here’s another with an interesting historical perspective. 

Are your channels aligned for the holidays?

The State of the Nation’s Housing is, in a word, complicated.

Housing markets are showing signs of reviving, concluded "The State of the Nation’s Housing" report released by the Cambridge, Mass.-based Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. But we’re not out of the woods, yet. 

A customer satisfaction survey by J.D. Powers and Associates found that sales, delivery and installation service are slightly more important than facilities, product assortment and price when it comes to buying major appliances. 

Zillow research makes a connection between spending on pre-wedding parties, and spending on the home.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 11.5%.

The BuildFax Remodeling Index for May 2011 reported that despite high unemployment rates and falling home prices, remodeling activity has reached a new high. The index, released July 18, was reported to be up 22% with a value of 124.3 for May, the highest number since the index’s introduction in 2004. Furthermore, BuildFax reported, May marked the 19^th straight month for year-over-year gains in the remodeling industry. Consumers, the data show, are continuing to invest in remodeling and are choosing to remodel rather than purchase new homes.

When was the last time you texted your customers?