The headline figures for this month show a small correction following the spike in activity at the start of August, following the General Election and the fall in the Bank of England’s reduction in the base rate of interest.
Average sales were down by 6.1% in August to 52.1, and average leads were down by 6.7% to 107.
In both cases though, they were up on June by 4.8% and 6.3% respectively.
Sales and leads are also up on the same period in 2023: average sales are up by 16.3%; and average leads are up by 19%.
Both of these comparisons support the view that instead of heading into a difficult trading period (as we were in Q3 2023) we are seeing an increase in leads and sales following a boost in confidence.
It’s not all a bed of roses though, and it is frustrating that the mood music coming from government is downbeat.
Talk of a £20bn black hole at the Treasury, and the prospect of higher taxes in the October Budget (with no-one quite sure who will be hit the most) doesn’t help sustain the confidence we need to create growth in the economy.
Elsewhere in the Business Pilot Barometer, the average order value had dropped by 9.8% to £3,600, which was offset by a 14.8% fall in the average lead time to 22.5 days.
This suggests that we have become less reliant on the higher value end of the market, and we could see the volume market continue to pick up before the end of the year.
But we shouldn’t get complacent and, according to reports, we should be paying close attention to our overheads.
The FMB (Federation of Master Builders) found that over half of tradespeople (52%) recorded lower-than-expected profits in 2024, thanks in part to cost of raw materials going up, alongside labour shortages.
To combat this, we should monitor the health of our business on a daily basis, which is what Business Pilot users can do with ease, while monitoring leads and conversions.
It is also worth noting that despite the government laying the groundwork for an unpleasant autumn Budget, consumer confidence remains stable according to market analysts GfK, who also found that consumers agreed that that now was a good time to buy big ticket items.
In summary, the market appears to be heading in the right direction, but don’t be fooled into thinking it will be an easy journey.
Meanwhile, stay on top of your own business’s finance to make sure you aren’t trading profitability for increased sales.
