With the arrival of spring, the home improvement and renovation season is upon us. A new survey from Flipp, the go-to free shopping and savings app, reveals over three quarters of households across the U.S. and Canada are planning at least one home improvement project this spring. 

Even with the current COVID climate, shoppers are planning to set aside a budget for sprucing up their home. Nearly 80% are planning to spend between $100 to $5,000 for indoor projects, while over 60% of respondents are planning to spend up to $500 on outdoor renovations. 

Flipp Spring Black Friday survey insights 2021 (CNW Group/Flipp Corp)

“Spring Black Friday is a shopping event that slowly turned into a key sales season for home and garden retailers, but it’s still relatively unknown to consumers,” says Nafisa Kassam, Flipp Chief Deals Officer. “From indoor DIY projects, to outdoor patio makeovers, our focus is to generate awareness for the shopping event that no one’s heard of and inspire consumers to get started on their home DIY renovation project now!”

Additional findings from the survey revealed: 

  • The majority of home improvement projects in the U.S. will get started in March through May, while Canadian residents are more likely to wait to kick things off between April through June.
  • 90% of shoppers have flexible budgets to ensure they get the job done right. Most projects will take at least two weeks to complete.
  • Many consumers plan to tackle more than one room, most commonly the shared spaces in the home. Nearly 40% plan to do work on the living/family room.
  • Top three product purchase categories:
    • Indoor projects: 
      • Paint 
      • Decor
      • Home furniture
    • Outdoor projects: 
      • Plants & flowers
      • Gardening supplies
      • Gardening tools
  • 88% of shoppers will conduct research on the products they need, suggesting their home improvement purchases are not impulse buys.
  • The top 3 categories for home improvement inspiration include:
    • Online brochures/lookbooks
    • Store websites
    • Social media
  • Over 40% of residents in both the U.S and Canada groups shared that product quality is the most important factor in their purchasing decision (followed by price), and it is important for them to see the product in person before making a purchase.
  • Given the need to evaluate the product in person, the majority of purchases will be made in store. However, getting the project done is important; therefore, if lockdowns prevent in-store shopping due to COVID 19, the majority will switch to online shopping rather than abandoning the purchase. When the latter circumstance presents itself, the shopper will conduct additional online research to ensure they are purchasing what they need.

Spring Black Friday typically runs from mid-March through mid-June, with retailers offering sales and deals to kick spring-summer selling into high gear. The awareness of the sales event however is currently at an all-time low, with only 20% of shoppers that are in the know in the U.S. That number is even less for Canada at 9%.