At the beginning of June, a questionnaire was sent to 2,431 retailers of hearth, patio, and barbecue products. A total of 206 were returned and usable.

Take a good look at the categories of products above. Every one of those items listed represents an opportunity to expand your business and services, and increase your revenues.

If you’re interested, go to the article titled “Take it Outside”. There you will find facts from a number of credible sources on which products are most in demand, which areas of the yard are most popular with clients, and what percent of your peers are actively promoting the Outdoor Room trend.

That said, we confess to being surprised by this year’s responses. Contrary to results of our survey in 2016, when a greater percent of retailers carrying each product increased substantially, this year that percent declined in all but a few categories.

What a surprise!

Although the invitation to fill out the survey is sent to the same list of 2,431 or so retailers, the respondents (2060) differ from year to year. That certainly could account for such radically different results.

Even a hot category such as fire pits declined by 12%, as did another very hot category, pellet grills, which dropped by 11%. Torches, kitchen cabinets and pavilions did increase, by only a slight amount.

On the service side, the percent of retailers who sell and install outdoor kitchens declined by 5%; the percent of retailers who provide design services for customers increased, but only by 1%.

The percent of retailers who sell and install pergolas declined by 3%, and the percent that sell and install gazebos dropped by 2%.