Mitre 10 remains the country’s most popular hardware store, with 1 million New Zealanders over the age of 14 shopping at Mitre 10 in an average four weeks, according to Roy Morgan research.
Despite this, in the year to October 2014, Carters had the highest proportion of customers in an average four weeks working in trades and technical jobs, at 23.3 per cent. In other words, nearly one in four people at a Carters checkout are professional handy people, ahead of around one in five at ITM (20.2 per cent), one in six at PlaceMakers (16.4 per cent), one in seven at Bunnings (14.1 per cent), and one in nine at Mitre 10 (11.4 per cent).
At Hammer Hardware store, 8.8 per cent of all customers during an average four weeks were tradies, compared with 9.3 per cent of the general NZ population.
Even though Carters, ITM, and PlaceMakers have the highest ratio of tradies per customer, the two dominant players still attract the highest number of tradies overall – 36.7 per cent of all tradespeople or technicians shop at Mitre 10 in an average four weeks, and 31.4 per cent shop at Bunnings.
John La Rosa, client services manager NZ at Roy Morgan Research, said it is vital for hardware chains to have a detailed understanding of their consumers in order to fully understand and thrive in the competitive market.
“Carters’ Christchurch store is smack bang in the middle of an area densely population by Kiwis working in trades and technical jobs – just the type of person likely to shop at a hardware store,” La Rosa said.
“With Mitre 10 and Bunnings dominating the market, it’s vital for smaller hardware chains to understand their current customers and pinpoint niche targeting opportunities. The unhandy among us may often ask a tradie friend where to go for supplies, so having a solid customer base of professionals is also an important word-of-mouth tool for stores.
“By mapping exactly where different types of people live, retailers can pinpoint the best locations for future stores and determine the best way to advertise to people living around existing stores.”
