The way people discover, research and buy products is changing quickly. And for home improvement brands, that presents both a challenge and an opportunity.
AI is playing a bigger role in how consumers make decisions, particularly for purchases that involve more research and consideration. But it's not just about new technology. It's changing when customers encounter brands, what information they expect and how they decide who to trust.
At our recent Leeds Digital Festival event, Consumers Don't Shop Like They Used To, I joined marketing leaders from Jacuzzi Group and Sherwin-Williams to explore what these changes mean in practice.
One thing stood out to me: while the way people shop is evolving, the fundamentals of what makes good marketing haven't changed. We just need to get better at applying them.
Here are my five biggest takeaways from the discussion.
1. Customers are searching for solutions, not just products
Think about someone wanting to put up a shelf.
Traditionally, they might have searched Google for the best cordless drill. Now, they're increasingly able to ask AI what they need to put up a shelf in the first place.
That changes where brands need to enter the conversation.
Instead of competing solely for product-related searches, home improvement brands have an opportunity to help customers solve the problem that led them to consider a purchase.
During our discussion, Jacuzzi Group shared a similar example. Rather than focusing exclusively on selling hot tubs, they're considering broader customer needs, such as improving sleep and wellbeing.
The opportunity is to become part of the solution before someone even knows which product they need.
For marketers, that means understanding the questions customers are asking much earlier in their journey and creating genuinely useful content that answers them.
2. Less website traffic doesn't necessarily mean less opportunity
One of the changes we're seeing across the brands we work with is that website traffic and conversion rates aren't always moving in the same direction.
As AI increasingly handles parts of the research process, some customers are arriving at websites further along their buying journey.
They've already compared options, gathered information and narrowed down their choices. By the time they reach a brand's website, they may be more ready to buy.
That creates an interesting challenge for how we measure marketing performance.
If website sessions are falling but conversion rates are improving, is that necessarily a bad thing?
Not always.
We need to look beyond traffic volumes and understand how customers are discovering brands, how informed they are when they arrive and what ultimately influences their decision.
It also makes visibility during that earlier research stage more important. If AI is helping customers narrow twenty options down to three, brands need to give themselves the best chance of being considered.
3. Brand-building matters more than ever
With so much attention on AI, SEO and performance marketing, it's easy to overlook something fundamental: people still buy from brands they know and trust.
During the discussion, both Jacuzzi Group and Sherwin-Williams highlighted the importance of brand recognition, credibility and consistency.
But even established brands can't rely on their reputation alone.
As AI changes how products are discovered and recommended, brands need to build visibility across more places, from useful website content and expert advice to reviews, social media, PR and third-party recommendations.
And in home improvement, there's another important consideration.
Customers don't just want practical information. They want inspiration.
Someone choosing paint might need technical advice on which product to use, but they also want to imagine how their finished room will look and feel.
Brands need to inspire customers before they're ready to buy, then give them the confidence and information to make the right decision.
That requires a balance between long-term brand-building and shorter-term performance marketing. One shouldn't come at the expense of the other.
4. Online and offline shopping are no longer separate journeys
We often talk about customers researching online before buying in-store. But increasingly, the journey works both ways.
Someone might discover a product on social media, visit a retailer to see it in person, then use their phone to compare prices, read reviews or ask AI for advice while they're standing in the shop.
For home improvement brands, where customers often want to see, touch or experience products before buying, this is particularly important.
As we discussed during the event, the challenge isn't simply to be present across different channels.
It's to make sure those channels work together and tell a consistent story.
The advice customers receive online should complement what they hear in-store. Product information should be easy to find, and the transition between digital research and physical retail should feel natural.
These might sound like basic marketing principles, but they're becoming even more important as buying journeys grow less predictable.
5. We need to stop assuming we know our customers
This was probably my biggest takeaway from the event.
When I asked the room how recently they'd updated their customer personas, very few hands stayed up when we got to the last six months.
Yet we're all talking about how quickly customer behaviour is changing.
There's a disconnect there.
We can't assume that two customers of the same age, income or background will have the same attitude towards AI, digital research or shopping.
And we certainly can't assume that because a new technology exists, customers want to use it.
If we're changing how we market to people, we need to make sure we're regularly checking whether our understanding of those people is still accurate.
That doesn't always require a huge research project.
Speak to your sales teams. Ask customer service colleagues what questions they're hearing. Talk to retailers. Use website surveys and behavioural data to understand where people are struggling.
And importantly, look at what customers actually do, not just what they say they do.
The key is making customer understanding an ongoing activity, rather than something we revisit every few years.
So, what should home improvement brands do next?
If there's one thing I'd encourage marketers to take away from our discussion, it's that you don't need to completely reinvent your marketing strategy because of AI.
But you do need to understand how it's changing the journey your customers take.
I'd start with five questions:
- Do we understand how customers are researching our products today? Look beyond traditional keywords to the problems and questions that start their journey.
- Are we visible before customers are ready to buy? Build awareness, credibility and useful content across the places people discover brands.
- Are we measuring the right things? Look at awareness, consideration and conversion, rather than judging success on traffic or leads alone.
- Are our online and offline experiences connected? Make sure customers receive consistent information and support wherever they interact with your brand.
- When did we last speak to our customers? Refresh your understanding regularly and test whether your assumptions still hold true.
My final piece of advice would be to start experimenting.
It's easy to get caught up trying to build the perfect strategy for a landscape that's constantly changing. But sometimes the most useful thing you can do is test something, learn from it and improve.
AI will continue to change how people discover and evaluate products. But customers will still want inspiration, reassurance, useful information and brands they can trust.
The brands that succeed won't necessarily be the ones using the most technology. They'll be the ones using it to better understand and serve their customers.
Watch the full discussion
Want to hear more about how changing consumer behaviour is shaping the future of home improvement marketing?
Watch our Consumers Don't Shop Like They Used To Leeds Digital Festival session, featuring perspectives from Enjoy Digital, Jacuzzi Group and Sherwin-Williams.
Watch the full event recording
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