One of the biggest fears product manufacturers had during the COVID years was that contractors would try a new brand because their usual one was unavailable, and then switch allegiance to that new brand. Distributors, meanwhile, worried that big-box stores and multi-regional dealers would take market share because they had better access to products.

The Farnsworth Group has paid close attention to this question for years. Speaking last month at the Home Improvement Research Institute’s annual conference, Farnsworth Group President Grant Farnsworth said the concerns were justified. Three-quarters of remodeling contractors said they had used a new supplier or manufacturer or product during the summer, he said.

But trying a product doesn’t mean you’ll love it. Farnsworth Group surveys found that the percentage of remodelers who described themselves as extremely loyal to a product (1 on a 5-point scale) did drop notably during COVID, but it has since risen about halfway up from where it was. Loyalty to suppliers also declined during COVID and has since risen to nearly where it was before the pandemic, but the drop wasn’t as steep as it was for brands.