United States. In 2016, for the first time, more consumers in this nation reported using the internet, rather than an HVAC contractor, to gather information about their impending purchase, according to a survey by Decision Analyst.
While that trend slowed in 2019, just over half of homeowners surveyed this year reported using the internet as a source of information about their HVAC options. Still, nearly half said they trusted their HVAC contractor's recommendation. These two sources of information were used equally in the 2013 edition of the American Home Comfort Study; but before that, the contractor was the main unequivocal source of information for consumers.
While contractor recommendations continue to play a role among homeowners in general, the younger the buyer, the more likely they are to rely on their internet research rather than their contractor's recommendations. About two-thirds of those aged 25 to 44 (65%) cite the Internet as a source of information, while less than half (46%) trust their contractor's recommendation. The opposite is true for people 45 and older, as less than half rely on the internet (44%) and about half rely on their contractor (51%).
"As the current population of homeowners ages and more internet-savvy Millennials and Gen Zs enter the homeowner market, we expect the internet to play an increasingly important role in HVAC purchases," said S. Mark Teich, project manager for the 2019 American Home Comfort study.
HVAC manufacturers' approach to the internet is paying off. More than half (58%) of consumers who used the internet to research their purchase visited the HVAC manufacturer's website for information about their purchase. Manufacturers' websites were cited as the most widely used source of information for these consumers, followed by articles and information found through a search engine (45%) and free online review panels (33%). Contractors' websites were viewed less frequently, with only about a third of homeowners (32%) including a local contractor's website in their online search.
This survey was conducted on nearly 2,500 homeowners who purchased a new central HVAC system in the past 24 months.
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