Retailers, Consumers Agree: Made in America Matters

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Independent home improvement retailers are emphasizing their made-in-America product offerings, and customers are demonstrating that the emphasis hits home for them.

A large portion of retailers who participated in a study from the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) indicate that they have been intentionally adding more made-in-America products to their stores within the past two years than before. They are also primarily promoting those items through conversations with shoppers at the cash register and store signage.

Survey respondents also believe their customers are willing to spend more money on those items. About 90 percent of them think their customers will pay upward of 4 percent extra on American-made items than they would on products manufactured in other countries.

NRHA also checked in with shoppers to find out if they agree with how retailers perceive their loyalty to domestic products. NRHA’s consumer research reveals retailers aren’t off track in highlighting those American-manufactured products. In fact, they’re in tune with what matters to shoppers.

About 65 percent of a sampling of more than 1,000 consumers say buying American-made is moderately to extremely important to them when they’re making purchasing decisions.

Even more eye-opening is consumers’ willingness to shell out additional cash for those products. The NRHA research shows that, of a group of about 1,000 consumers, 72 percent are willing to spend more money on items that are made in America. In fact, 32 percent say they’re willing to spend 10 percent or more on a product if it is American-made.

For a more detailed look at how retailers like you responded to NRHA’s 2017 made in America survey, view the PDF.