Smooth colour finishes most popular
Smooth colours are the single most popular PVCU foiled finish according to the findings of an independent survey of UK homeowners.
The study, conducted by YouGov and commissioned by Deceuninck, found that smooth colours (26%), were more than twice as popular as natural woodgrain finishes (16%) and significantly more popular than woodgrain colours (12%).
While, as a single finish option, 42% of homeowners selected standard white as their preferred option for replacement windows, combined, premium finishes (natural woodgrains, solid colours, and woodgrain colours) were overall more popular, cited by a total of 54% of respondents as their preferred option.
Rob McGlennon, managing director of Deceuninck, said: “What we’re seeing is fundamental growth in the popularity of solid colours. This is in part down to a general growth in appeal but also in part and least to the installation of foiled PVCU products alongside aluminium.
“This is something that is also reflected in our survey, which shows the popularity of greys with homeowners, particularly anthracite grey but also increasingly agate grey.”
Deceuninck offers 30 colourways in stock and 20 additional colours in just 15 working days with, on average, Deceuninck fabricators selling twice as much colour as their competitors.
This includes a dedicated heritage colour range and Decoroc, a range of PVCU finishes that deliver a matt textured finish, designed to offer an identical match to its aluminium offer.
The survey found that homeowner preferences were also influenced by age, with older homeowners aged 55+ more inclined to choose a natural woodgrain (18%) than younger homeowners (8% of 25-34-year-olds), who preferred smooth colour options.
Rob said Deceuninck also found finish was just as important as colour.
“Woodgrains make up a sizeable share of what we do,” he said. “Smooth finishes have gained ground and, given their popularity with a younger demographic, are likely to become increasingly important overtime.
“That means we should be looking forward and adapting our offer to those forecast changes now, to future-proof our offers, while also targeting different prospects with unique propositions.”
Deceuninck will be releasing detail analysis of the survey results over the coming weeks to its customers in a series of remote presentations and workshops.