Fresh paint statistics

Painting a room is one of the most accessible home improvement projects—in terms of cost and complexity. And it’s also one that creates bang for buck in terms of dramatic decorating results.

So it’s no surprise that retailers have thrown substantial marketing dollars and resources to attract customers to their paint departments. And consumer research from NPD group shows the big are getting bigger in terms of market share.

In the general category of paint and paint sundries, warehouse home centers’ share of consumer wallet grew to 54.6 percent in 2007, up from 51.7 percent in the previous year. (See chart #1.)

While research shows a decline in both dollar share and unit share for the specialty paint store channel, these stores have the highest average ticket, and growing. (See chart #4.) “People have come to understand: if you go to a specialty store, you may get better service and more personalized advice, but you may have to pay a few bucks more,” said Mark Delaney, NPD Group’s director of home improvement.

The biggest specific category of spending by far is interior paint, holding steady at 49.5 percent of consumer purchases. (See chart #3.) Note: the NPD consumer panel does not include pros, who are more apt to purchase large quantities of exterior paint.

In terms of demographics, the fastest growing spending rate is taking place in the youngest consumer bracket. The 18-to-34-year-old consumer grew 6.0 percentage points to 30.2 percent of spending on paint/paint sundries and sprayers. (See chart #5.)

“This makes sense,” said Delaney. “The fastest growing group of home buyers are young consumers, and paint is among the first new home projects.”