The Pulse

The Pulse: Merchants are confident in their own prospects, but confidence in the market starts to wobble

Builders’ merchants’ sales expectations are robust, and merchants’ confidence for the prospects of their own business remain strong. But their confidence in the market is being tested.

With continuing price inflation, merchant’s margins are coming under pressure. Slow payments and bad debts are also growing problems.

The Pulse, by MRA Research, is a monthly tracking survey of merchants’ confidence and prospects. Telephone interviewing took place between 1st and 2nd March 2023 (2 working days).

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The Pulse is a monthly trends survey that tracks builders’ merchants’ confidence and prospects over time and is produced by MRA Research, the market research division of MRA Marketing. View all reports here.

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