In 2021, according to Nielsen, 417,066 Philadelphia area homeowners are expected to spend $2.5 billion on kitchen and bathroom remodeling. This would be an increase of 16.8% increase over last year. Sales estimates are based on data from The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA).

Because of the ongoing pandemic, 2.9 million Delaware Valley homeowners are in the process of reassessing their living spaces.

According to the NKBA, homeowners cite the kitchen and bath areas as two times more important than other spaces within the home, and the kitchen particularly gained status throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with 70% of homeowners considering it extremely important compared to 64% before the crisis.

“After such a strong year for home remodeling in 2020, some wondered if we were approaching a home improvement spending ‘cliff.’ We’re pleased to say that’s not what the kitchen and bath market is expecting in 2021,” said Bill Darcy, NKBA CEO.

“Last year, homeowners started the work of improving their living spaces with DIY projects. And this year, with early distribution of the vaccine and other measures to reduce the public health impact of the virus, we expect to see continued renovations and more projects requiring our members.”

Delaware Valley residents will begin receiving economic stimulus checks  from the Internal Revenue Service as early as today.  In all, local consumers will receive more than $6.6 billion in payments.

This infusion of cash into the Philadelphia area economy was authorized by Congress last week in the American Rescue Plan legislation. 

The stimulus relief legislation calls for a one-time payment of $1,400 to single adults. Married couples who filed jointly will receive $2,800 total ($1,400 apiece). Families will get an additional $1,400 for each eligible dependent regardless of age. A family of four could get $5,600 in total payments. Like the second round of stimulus payments, the third round specifically prohibits payments to anyone who died before January 1, 2020.

Many of the stimulus dollars will end up in the wallets of 1.3 million Philadelphia area homeowners. Based on research from Modernize, a leader in the home improvement and home services industry, 57% of these consumers are planning to spend all or part of their checks on home improvement projects.

Consumers in the Delaware Valley spent a record $6.5 billion on home improvements in 2019. This level of spending is projected to drop modestly next year, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

“Declining home sales and home-building activity coupled with slower gains in permitting for improvement projects will put the brakes on remodeling growth,” says Chris Herbert, the center’s managing director.

“However, if falling mortgage interest rates continue to incentivize home sales, refinancing, and ultimately remodeling activity, the slowdown may soften some.”

If Philadelphia area small businesses that sell home improvement products and services would like to continue to grow despite the softening market, then advertising will be required.

"Our main goal has always been to grow every year just like we were a brand new business," says Daniel Pilquist, Vice President of Operations for Pilquist Enterprises, Inc. "Aggressive advertising helps us make that happen."

Pilquist Enterprises owns and operates 12 NaturaLawn franchises throughout the Delaware Valley. The business was founded by Daniel's father, Dean, in 1991. "My Dad started with one truck and one service rep out of a small location in Doylestown," he says. "We are now the largest franchisee in America.

NaturaLawn provides Philadelphia area homeowners with weed-free green lawns using an environmentally friendly approach. "We offer a proprietary, organic-based fertilizer that focuses on secondary and micronutrients as well as bio-stimulants to transform the home's soil ability to produce green grass," says Daniel.

The business, which started with franchises in Bucks and Montgomery County, quickly grew to eight fueled by telemarketing, direct mail, and customer referrals.

By 2008, the Pilquist's NaturaLawn franchises were serving 3500 customers per year. To achieve greater growth, the company began investing in advertising on Philadelphia radio stations.

If you don't have time to read this entire article, then I will tell you right now. The best way to advertise in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley is on Philadelphia radio.

A vital function of advertising is to build mental availability, which nudges a consumer toward the purchase of a product or service. It also serves to provide public notice that a product or service exists and is available for purchase.

Consumers in the Delaware Valley area are expected to spend at least $98 billion at retail this year. To claim a greater share of this giant pool of cash requires local business owners of every size to advertise their goods and services. As Professor Jef Richards at Michigan State University points out, “Advertising is totally unnecessary…unless you want to make money."

Households in the Delaware Valley are projected to spend $18.7 billion on home improvements over the next 12 months. Landis Block And Concrete in Souderton, PA uses advertising on Philadelphia radio to successfully earn the biggest possible share of those dollars.

The company is co-owned by Jarrod and Jamie Nyce. Their grandfather started the company in 1943 as Nyce Crete in Landis, PA which is still operated by the brothers.  Originally, the company primarily sold ready mix concrete to contractors.

That all changed, when the brother's father purchased Landis Block in 1987.  In addition to serving contractors, the new company had a retail business selling stone, block, concrete products, and other building materials to homeowners and do-it-yourselfers.