The latest report from the Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) has revealed that builders’ merchants’ August value sales were 23% higher year-on-year, with timber and joinery products topping the list of best performing categories (+51.5%).
Helped by one more trading day this year, 11 out of the 12 categories sold more in August 2021 compared to August 2020, with heavy building materials (+16.9%), landscaping (+11.5%) and kitchens and bathrooms (+11.3%) putting in a strong monthly performance.
Meanwhile, workwear and safetywear (-2.7%) was the only category to sell less over the period. Average like-for-like daily sales in August 2021 were up 17.1% on the same month last year.
What’s more, total merchant value sales were up compared to a more normal pre-pandemic year. Compared to August 2019, total merchant value sales were up 18.2% on August 2021, with no difference in trading days, driven by timber and joinery (+48.4%) and landscaping (+29.7%).
These two categories also helped August’s BMBI index reach 139.3, with timber and joinery products reaching 182.6 and landscaping reaching 175.3.
However, for the second month in a row, total merchant sales were down in August compared to July (-7.9%) with no difference in trading days. Only workwear and safetywear (+3.1%) sold more, while plumbing, heating and electrical (-3.6%), kitchens and bathrooms (-6.5%), heavy building materials (-7.2%) and timber and joinery products (-8.6%) all sold less.
Commenting on the figures, Mike Rigby, chief executive officer of MRA Research, which produces the BMBI report, said: “After a bumper year, sales began to ease over the summer. With all COVID restrictions removed in July, I expect a combination of exhausted people trying to grab a summer break and the continuing impact of material shortages and supply chain problems contributed to slowing sales.
“There are murmurs of material shortages easing but with no significant lessening of demand, it will take time to shorten current long lead times for many products and solve the complicated supply chain problems.”
Emile van der Ryst, senior client insight manager – trade at GfK Retail & Technology UK, added: “The exceptional growth seen against both 2019 and 2020 continues ahead, but we’re seeing the first stages of a pressurised market starting to ease off. Merchants have done well to manage supply chain challenges and continue to reap the rewards of this.
“Growth should continue to slow down in the coming months, especially with the stamp duty holiday coming to an end and some of the other wider UK economic challenges coming to the fore.”
>> You can read more from the BMBI in the news here.
