Merchants Q1 volume sales down -8.1% year-on-year as Iran war hits pause
The latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report reveals builders’ merchants’ like-for-like value sales for Q1 2026, adjusted to remove the impact of trading days, were -3.2% lower than Q1 2025. Like-for-like volume sales were down -8.1%, with prices increasing +5.4%.
With no difference in trading days, unadjusted Q1 total value sales were also down -3.2% year-on-year. By value, seven of the twelve categories sold more with Renewables & Water Saving (+14.3%) performing best. Of the two biggest categories, Timber & Joinery Products (+0.9%) performed better than Total Builders Merchants, but Heavy Building Materials fell -6.7%.
March 2026 like-for-like value sales were -3.6% lower than March 2025. Like-for-like volume sales dropped -7.8% while prices increased +4.6%. With one additional trading day in March 2026, unadjusted total value sales were up +1.0% year-on-year. Unadjusted volumes were -3.4% lower and prices were +4.6% higher.
Ten categories sold more by unadjusted value, with Renewables & Water Saving (+14.5%) the standout category followed by Workwear & Safetywear (+14.0%) and Services (+7.4%). Timber & Joinery Products (+4.2%) outperformed Total Builders Merchants, but Heavy Building Materials was down -1.7%.
In the 12 months April 2025 to March 2026, like-for-like value sales were flat (0.0%) compared to the previous 12-months (April 2024 to March 2025). Like-for-like volume sales were down -1.0% but prices increased +1.0%. With one less trading day in the most recent 12-month period, unadjusted value sales were down -0.4% with volumes down -1.4% and prices up +1.0%. By value, nine of the twelve categories sold more, led by Renewables & Water Saving (+8.5%). Timber & Joinery Products grew +2.1% however Heavy Building Materials declined -2.4% and was the weakest category overall.
Mike Rigby, MD of MRA Research who produce this report, says: “Every year of the 2020s seems to come with seriously unwelcome surprises, and 2026 is no exception. The Iran war has massively impacted business and consumer confidence and the Q1 merchant sales figures reflect that.
“Research by PwC revealed that 90% of consumers were worried about the cost of living, and almost 80% planned to cut back on spending over the next quarter. Barclays too, found customers trimming out non-essential spending over the first three months of the year. These findings are confirmed in the authoritative April GfK Consumer Confidence Index, which shows a sharp fall in the overall index, down -4 points to -25; the lowest level since February 2023. Consumer expectations for the General Economic Situation over the next 12 months’ fell -6 to -43, six points worse than last year. Their expectations for Personal Financial Situation over the next 12 months dropped -5 points, at -4 it’s one point lower than this time last year. Consumers are saving more (+5 over last month, and two points higher than this time last year), but there was no change to the Major Purchase Index, suggesting no worsening in larger home improvement project spending.
“Cost of fuel and food increases are concerning many people, but there are still pockets of optimism. The Bank of England reported a slight increase in mortgage approvals to 63,500 in Q1 2026, which will be music to developers’ ears. But any significant recovery will be limited by higher mortgage costs, lower affordability and heightened uncertainty fuelled by geopolitical volatility and a lack of direction in Government.
“With the job of Prime Minister in play, and a regional and local government shakeup following the May elections, businesses and consumers are in for a few wait-and-see months. We’re almost halfway through the year but we’re a long way from knowing how 2026 will pan out for Merchants. There are too many balls in the air to tell!”
Set up and run by MRA Research, the BMBI – a brand of the Builders Merchants Federation – is a monthly index of builders’ merchant sales, and the most reliable, up-to-date measure of Repair, Maintenance, and Improvement (RMI) activity in the UK. The index is based on actual sales from NiQ GfK’s Builders’ Merchant Point of Sale Tracking Data, which captures value sales out to builders from generalist builders’ merchants, accounting for 88% of total sales from builders’ merchants throughout Great Britain. An in-depth review, which includes commentary by sector experts, is provided each quarter.
Following feedback from national and some large regional merchants, MRA Research has made a few changes to the way builders’ merchant sales data is presented in the BMBI reports. More prominence is now being given to like-for-like sales metrics which, adjusted for trading day differences, give a better and more consistent measure of activity than unadjusted total value sales. Most merchants use both unadjusted sales values and like-for-like measures, adjusted for trading days, to give them an accurate steer on the market. There will be further small changes over the coming months to BMBI reporting, with further updates coming in due course.
The Q1 2026 BMBI report is available to download at www.bmbi.co.uk.
