Research by Screwfix, has revealed that technology is fast becoming one of a tradesman’s most valuable business tools. Four out of five UK tradesmen now purchase trade goods online.
The research revealed that convenience is now the number one consideration for tradesmen with recipients ranking convenience above both price and product when asked to put the factors in order of importance.
‘Pressure to maximise working time’; ‘less scope to plan ahead’ and ‘higher consumer expectations’ were all quoted by as reasons why convenient purchasing is now key to the running of their business.
John Mewett, marketing director at Screwfix, explains: “We know from our customers that in today’s economic climate, time is of the essence, as the more time they spend out working and quoting, the quicker they can grow their business.
“We also know that no two customers are the same when it comes to getting their hands on the products they need, except when it comes to one thing, they know what they need and when they need it. It is therefore vital that they can order or purchase products at a time and place to fit in with their schedule.
“As a result, our customers are telling us that flexibility of purchasing is becoming increasingly important to them when it comes to making sure that they have the right tools for the job, and as such technology is increasingly important.
“For example, whilst many of our customers at Screwfix purchase products in-branch, our study has shown that more and more of our customers are researching tools and shopping across a combination of channels, whether it be over the phone, online or in branch. In fact, 950,000 a week customers regularly visit our web site and 80 per cent of our tradesmen have purchased online at some point.
“The success of our new reserve and collect service, which enables customers to purchase online, and collect their products in any one of 186 branches just 15 minutes later, also echoes this change in purchasing approach. Over 125,000 customers a week are taking advantage of its stock check function”.
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