Looking forward to 2022

A Happy New Year from Glass Times as new editor, Luke Wood, looks ahead to 2022

As we begin a new year, it might be tempting to assume that the chaos of 2020-2021 is behind us and that we can look forward to a return to normality for 2022.

At the risk of starting the year on a downer, the reality is that conditions are likely to remain challenging for some time yet!

Against a backdrop of rising inflation and ongoing supply chain issues, there are also signs that consumer confidence is wobbling. A recent Which? report revealed that 78% of UK consumers are worried about energy prices and only 25% believe the economy will improve in 2022, down from over 50% from May last year.

According to the latest Business Pilot Barometer, retail sales and leads are also down significantly.

On the plus side? Well, as the Business Pilot analysis points out, a seasonal dip in activity for this time of year is to be expected. Once you factor in order values have actually increased by 55% and that most – if not all – installers have enough work in the pipeline to carry them through until at least the end of Q1, things start to look a lot more positive.

In addition to a booming house market, it has also become patently clear that home or hybrid working is here to stay, creating further demand for extended living spaces. That is in addition to ongoing uncertainty about overseas travel, which has arguably been the primary driver of the home improvement boom as consumers divert funds into their properties.

I will end with one more positive outlook for this year and that’s the FIT Show which (fingers crossed) is scheduled for 10-12 May.

The last event seems like a lifetime ago, but if there’s one way the industry can take a big step towards a return to ‘normal’, it’s by celebrating in style at the NEC in five months’ time.