As the rise in popularity for coloured windows and doors continues, Gerald Allen, head of marketing at Epwin, discusses why the company’s new colour offer represents the best of the new generation of coloured products, giving fabricators and installers a competitive edge in these turbulent times.

Coloured products were on the cusp of the mass market for many years but this trend has accelerated in recent times and now forms part of the mainstream.

Many installers now confirm that colour is one of the major selling considerations when closing the sale, especially across the domestic sector.

But as the market cools and with a recession almost certainly imminent, the cost-of-living crisis is putting a once-in-a-generation squeeze on spending.

This sobering fact is supported by research from property maintenance solution provider, Help me Fix, which revealed 52% of homeowners had put off their home improvement plans as a result of the current cost of living crisis – 52% doing so because they simply don’t have the money, with 48% stating they had the money but were reluctant to spend it due to the current economic landscape.

There is little doubt that as an industry we will all have to work much harder to secure the sale and focus our efforts on areas of the market that remain stable. With low to middle earners undoubtedly having to rein in discretionary spending, for more affluent consumers, it’s a slightly different story.

At the premium end of the market, many consumers will still have the funds to be able to invest in their homes, but they will need some serious convincing to part with their money. Offering ‘me-too’ products is not going to secure the sale and as they say, the devil is in the detail when it comes to satisfying the premium end of the market.

High-quality design standards are paramount when delivering inspirational products into this sector and that includes colour choice. Coloured windows and doors can boldly take the attention or simply blend into the surrounding environment.

They help consumers create a complete style statement that sits well with their living environment, enhances their property’s architectural identity and gives an immediate expression of period and style.

Our latest colour offering take the aesthetics of windows and doors to the next level with a comprehensive choice of colours. They cover contemporary colours, heritage classics, natural palettes and expression hues, and include on-trend colour choices such as sage, claystone and pebble grey. Together, the shades represent the most popular choices that customers demand.

But that’s just the start.

When windows and doors are closed, their high-end aesthetics are evident. But when you open a coloured window that’s foiled in the same colour on both sides, the contrast base colour lets it down. This is especially evident on the soft heritage shades.

It’s a problem we’ve solved by having five complementary bases as standard. When your customer chooses a window foiled in the same colour on both sides, it is manufactured on the base that most closely complements the selected shade: white, tan, brown, cream or grey. It’s a clear differentiator because when the window is open, they have a much more streamlined and high-end aesthetic. In our opinion, it is the way coloured products should always be sold.

For customers looking to make the most of colour, we have produced a range of marketing assets to support them. These include a dedicated consumer-focused brochure with high-quality lifestyle imagery. Point of sale materials include showroom graphics, pop up displays and wall posters to help draw consumer interest.

We also offer mood boards and swatch books to help guide consumers through the process of visualising the right colour palette for their home. And we also offer retail videography and gif files for use across digital marketing.

As the retail market cools, fabricators and installers need to position themselves for tougher economic challenges ahead. To capitalise on the opportunities, every element of the sale needs to be of the highest quality. And when it comes to coloured windows and doors, our new colour offer with complementary base colours delivers the next level aesthetics that your customer will be looking for.