For plaster to the internet

The outlook for the building materials industry is optimistic, with the online channel becoming a growth opportunity for retailers. According to data from e-commerce platform Shoper, e-shops in the "Home and Garden" category have seen a twofold increase in recent years and do not intend to stop

"Home and garden" is one of the more popular categories of products sold online, with 17 percent of stores operating on Shoper.pl software falling into this category. According to the online shopping platform, a sharp jump in home and garden furnishings stores took place in 2015. The number of active stores in the "home and garden" category in 2015 doubled compared to 2014 and remained at a similar level in 2016. However, the platform's owners forecast the industry to see a steady increase in online orders. Domestic demand for building services and materials would be boosted by renovation and construction tax credits, which the industry insists should return. This type of tax relief was available to Poles in 1997-2001, with the renovation relief being the most popular of all tax breaks at the time.

According to last year's report by IBP Research, the Polish building materials distribution market in 2015 reached sales of approx. 40 billion PLN. Year after year, the share of hyper and supermarkets in this industry is increasing. The number of customers choosing to shop for renovation and construction online is also growing. Gemius reported in 2015 that one in ten Polish Internet users visited websites and e-shops with construction and renovation materials.

Booming online sales of building materials and garden equipment in the United States totaled $1.2 billion in 2013, doubling the result in just four years[1]. The States is the market that generates the most revenue in this segment. And this year's global revenue in the DIY, garden and pet category, which includes DIY stores, is forecast by Statista at $26 million and assumes an annual growth rate of more than 9 percent[2]. This means that in four years the market will be worth nearly $37 million.

- The construction industry requires a great deal of knowledge and familiarity with construction techniques, material applications from the retailer. And although it ranks far behind sectors such as fashion or tourism in the e-commerce field, it is hard to imagine its future outside of e-commerce. Online sales allow wholesalers and stores to minimize maintenance costs, expand their reach and number of customers, offer competitive product prices and expertise, comments Tomasz Tybon, sales director at Dreamcommerce, provider of Shoper ready-to-use online store software.

Trends are set by industry leaders - hypermarkets Castorama, Leroy Merlin and OBI have invested in online sales channels. All of them support fast electronic payments, provide the possibility to pick up an order in a stationary store (so-called click&collect) and home delivery. This year, Jula market also announces the start of online sales. - Expanding a stationary store with online operations is the most popular model in the construction industry. Building materials not infrequently mean bulky items, the display of which translates into the need for a large space. In a stationary store or warehouse, salespeople display selected pieces, as the purchase of finishing materials involves the ROPO effect - the customer wants to see and touch the items being purchased before making a choice. An e-store, on the other hand, allows a much larger number of items to be presented and described than would fit in a stationary store, notes Tomasz Tybon of the Shoper.pl platform.

The popularization of renovation and construction purchases over the Internet is fostered by new technological solutions. E-stores are installing measure converters that tell how many packages of materials are needed for a given number of meters, search engines supplement with product parameters. Helping customers are programs that allow computerized design and visualization of the arranged space, for business partners the use of the store is facilitated by a phone application, through which they can quickly and conveniently make an order on the construction site. A good move by e-shops is to join the DIY trend and publish video tutorials showing how to lay panels or install a gutter yourself. The e-commerce platform allows a full presentation of the product in one place - a photo and description, professional expert advice, instructional videos.