Other highlights from the 2009 Home Improvement Retail Store Study include:

• Overall spending on home improvement products is down this year. Additionally, customers spend approximately 76 percent of their total home improvement budget at their primary home improvement retailer. However, customers who say they are "delighted" with their primary retailer's sales staff spend an additional 4 percent of their budget at that same retailer.
• Approximately one-half of shoppers (51%) asked the sales staff for assistance during their most recent visit to a home improvement retail store-down from 61 percent in 2008. The two most common reasons customers ask for assistance are for help locating a product or for additional information about a product.
• Nearly one-third (31%) of customers report shopping at their primary home improvement retailer more than once per month. Overall, 8 percent of customers report shopping at their primary home improvement retailer once per week.
• More than 40 percent of customers report experiencing a service issue during their last store visit. The most frequently mentioned problems include: floor staff not available; floor staff not knowledgeable; and desired merchandise out of stock.

About the Study
The 2009 Home Improvement Retail Store Study is based on responses from 8,186 consumers who purchased a home improvement product or service within the previous 12 months from a store that sells home improvement products. Consumers were asked to evaluate their primary home improvement retailer. The study was fielded in March and April of 2009.

For more information:

• View Home Improvement Retailer Ratings
• View other Home Ratings
• Read more Home articles
• Read the press release