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HOUZZ UK
2020 State of The Industry
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Big Ideas
Over three in five of businesses reported an increase in
the costs of doing business, such as products and
materials and employee wages (62%).
RISING BUSINESS COSTS
The majority of businesses across the industry plan to
increase marketing and sales efforts and bring in larger
budget projects to bolster revenue growth over the
coming year (59% and 56%, respectively). Interior
designers are also likely to improve customer
experience (35 percent), while both design and build
firms, as well as architects, will increase prices, mark-
ups, or margins (57% and 39%, respectively).
While revenue continued to increase in 2019, there was
a slight reduction in the number of businesses reporting
an increase (59% in 2018 versus 54% in 2019). That said,
a majority of businesses met or exceeded expectations
in 2019 (62%), including five percent of businesses who
saw results that were significantly higher than their
expectations.
REVENUE GROWTH WAS LESS WIDESPREAD IN 2019
Design and build firms experienced the greatest impact
(67%), compared with interior designers and architects
(54% and 49%, respectively). On a related note, more
than a third of businesses reported that managing
customer concerns over cost was a top business
challenge (35%).
TAKING ACTION TO SUPPORT GROWTH
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61%
54%
33%31%
33%30%
59%56%
40%38%
27%25%
Increasemarketing/sales efforts
Bring in larger budgetprojects
Increase prices/mark-up/margins
Improve customerexperience
Offer newproducts/services
Improve employeeproductivity
Top Growth Strategies in 2020
Top Two Expected Strategies to Grow Revenues in 2020
Bring in larger budget projects 67%Increase marketing/sales efforts 54%
Charts show the percentage of surveyed businesses on Houzz UK expecting revenue growth in 2020 (vs. 2019)
Top Expected Strategies to Grow Revenues 2019 2020
Architect
Bring in larger budget projects 57%Increase marketing/sales efforts 57%
Interior Designer
Bring in larger budget projects 67%Increase marketing/sales efforts 67%
Design and Build Firm
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2
1
2
1
2
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Revenues & Profits in 2019
Charts show the percentage of surveyed businesses on Houzz UK reporting performance in 2019 (vs. 2018).
Gross Revenues Increase in 2019 Gross Revenues
Increase in 2019 Gross Profits
Architect 44%
Interior designer 65%
Design and build firm 44%
Architect 32%
Interior designer 58%
Design and build firm 44%
1
1
Gross Profits
1
1
2018 2019
2018 2019
54%
20%
26%
59%
21%
20%
Increased
No Change
Decreased
45%
23%
32%
46%
25%
29%
Increased
No Change
Decreased
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11%
26%
42%
20%
1%
9%
28%
40%
18%
5%
Significantly belowexpectations
Somewhat belowexpectations
Met expectations Somewhat aboveexpectations
Significantly aboveexpectations
2019 Comparison to The Initial Expectations
2019 Comparison to The Initial Expectations
Met expectations 43% Above expectations 20%
Charts show the percentage of surveyed businesses on Houzz UK reporting how 2019 business performance compared to the initial expectations for 2019 (vs. 2018).
Gross Revenues Relative to Expectations 2018 2019
1 2Architect
Met expectations 42%Above expectations 21%
Interior Designer
Met expectations 44%Above expectations 21%
Design and Build Firm
1
2
1
2
1
2
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Staffing & Business Costs in 2019
Charts show the percentage of surveyed businesses on Houzz UK reporting performance in 2019 (vs. 2018).
Number of Employees Increase in Number of Employees in 2019
Increase in Cost of Doing Business in 2019
Architect 9%
Interior designer 13%
Design and build firm 26%
Architect 49%
Interior designer 54%
Design and build firm 67%
1
1
Cost of Doing Business
1
1
2018 2019
2018 2019
16%
72%
12%
20%
73%
7%
Increased
No Change
Decreased
62%
32%
6%
66%
30%
4%
Increased
No Change
Decreased
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32%34%
27%25%
20%
15%
41%
35%
32%
21% 21% 20%
Weak/uncertainnational economy
Consumers - overlyconcerned about costs
Difficulty findingprospective customers
Consumers -unreasonableexpectations
Increased cost of doingbusiness (overhead,
wages, etc.)
Weak/uncertain localeconomy
Top Business Challenges in 2019
2019 Top Challenges
Weak/uncertain national economy 49%Consumers - overly concerned about costs 36%
Charts show the percentage of surveyed businesses on Houzz UK reporting challenges in 2019 (vs 2018).
Top Challenges Affecting Business 2018 2019
Architect
Interior Designer
Design and Build Firm
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2
1
2
1
2
Difficulty finding prospective customers 47%Consumers - overly concerned about costs 34%
Difficulty finding prospective customers 39%Weak/uncertain national economy 31%
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Description of Businesses
The percentage of surveyed businesses on Houzz UK with the specific characteristics in 2019
Share of Businesses by 2019 Business Characteristics
More Than £100K In Gross Revenues
(Up to £2M or more)40%
One Or More Employees
(Up to 500 or more) 68%
Ten Or More Years In Business
*Up to 30 or more years in existence 46%
Sole Owner Responding To Survey 65%
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Methodology
The survey was sent to businesses with profiles on Houzz UK and fielded between 4th
December, 2019 – 14th January, 2020. N=375.
Pro Categories in Survey (Sample N) Top Pro Types in Survey (Sample N)
Architect/Designer (N=183) Architect (N=92)
Builder/Installer (N=44) Interior designer (N=73)
Design and Build (N=59) Design and build firm (N=36)
Speciality - Building & Renovation (N=26)
Speciality - Decorating (N=38)
Speciality - Landscaping & Outdoor (N=25)
Business groups were defined based on services that contributed to the
largest share of business gross revenues in 2019, as identified by
respondents in the survey.
Description of Business Groups by Core Services*
Top Related