76% of merchants experience squeezed margins

The first edition in a new series of ‘The Pulse’ surveys of merchant branch managers found their biggest problems in Q3 were squeezed margins, online competition and supplier price rises. Those same issues were seen as a problem for more than 1 in 2 merchants. The new survey will be published quarterly by MRA Building Market Reports, along with a set of forecasts for the UK builders’ merchants market.

The survey also found that the majority of merchant branch managers expect to see flat or declining sales in Q4 2025 compared with Q4 last year. Overall, 30% of the merchant branches surveyed did expect sales to increase at a low rate, but with sales growth driven by internal factors rather than any improvement in market conditions.

Results indicate that in Q3, more merchant branches in the North have seen sales increase than in the South; merchants in the North also have higher expectations for Q4 and confidence in the market.

Overall, merchants’ confidence in the market is poor. Only 21% of merchants are more confident in the market this year than they were last year – and the top reason for being more confident is believing it can’t get worse and that the general economy will have to improve! Reasons for being less confident than at the same time last year included economic uncertainty and low expectations from the upcoming budget, government policy, low levels of demand and competitive pressures.

The findings are published by MRA Reports in a new quarterly report on the builders’ merchant market, which combines the findings from a new series of ‘The Pulse’ surveys tracking merchants’ sales expectations and confidence each quarter, with a set of forecasts specifically for the builders’ merchant market.

To find out more about the report or to subscribe to quarterly updates, please send an email to hello@mra-reports.co.uk.