According to a recent industry report by WarmlyYours, a manufacturer specializing in radiant heating products, Amazon continued to be a huge driver of radiant heating sales in 2018. The company’s Fourth Quarter 2018 and Annual Industry Report analyzes the sales of radiant heating products within the wider context of the national housing and remodeling markets.
One of the most significant findings from the report was that Amazon continued to be a huge driver for sales of almost every product type for WarmlyYours. When comparing 2017 sales to 2018 sales, WarmlyYours sales via Amazon grew 183.5%. This growth led Amazon sales to constitute 15.8% of all sales for the company (up from 6.2% in 2017).
While the report only analyzes WarmlyYours sales data, Julia Billen, owner and president of WarmlyYours, said that she is confident that the analysis reflects a broader trend in the radiant heating industry of more and more customers turning to a “one-stop shop” pattern of consumer behavior.
“The simple truth is that Amazon has changed the way we shop for everything, not just floor heating. And the market share they occupy is only going to grow in 2019,” said Billen. “There will always be a place for direct B2C sales but if you’re not focused on optimizing your position on Amazon, then you’re missing the bigger picture.”
According to the report, electric floor heating related products were the fastest growing. Floor heating elements grew 202.4% and floor heating underlayments grew 628% for a combined growth of 297.9%.
Additionally, the report analyzed several industry benchmarks, including the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University which is projecting a deceleration of remodeling expenditures in 2019. Billen said that she does not believe that this relative downturn will have a significant impact on sales volume for radiant heating products but may instead impact sales by product type.
“Floor heating will always be at the core of our business,” said Billen. “But it’s important to continue to diversify and strengthen our other product lines. This helps reduce the impact of seasonality on our business while expanding the opportunities for repeat business from many of our customers like homeowners.”