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Top Reasons for Increase of In-Stock Purchases by Builders and Contractors

Principia’s ongoing, monthly builder and contractor survey puts a spotlight on an interesting trend—an increase of purchasing in-stock products versus special orders.

Two pie charts of builder and contractor in-stock purchasing (n=1,100): 42% bought more in-stock products, mainly because dealers stock more options (39%).
Change in in-stock product purchases and top reasons for the increase among builders and contractors. Source: Principia Voice of Customer Survey Data. Year not stated on image.

According to the results, builders and contractors state they have dramatically changed their purchasing habits in the last 12 months. A full 42% of builders and contractors report increased purchases of in-stock product compared to 12 months prior, while only 15% have decreased their in-stock purchasing.

Reasons given for this increase, as shown in the pie chart on the right, include dealers carrying a larger volume of inventory and/or offering a broader product mix.

This trend of purchasing more in-stock products could be driven by dealers generally carrying more inventory or dealers working to replenish inventory from prior supply chain shortages. We will continue to monitor this trend over time.