Imagine a customer who changes from a saving mentality to a spending one and is always in the market for your products.
Imagine a customer poised to switch brands and motivated to try new providers.
Imagine they suddenly start throwing caution to the wind, all bets are off, and they’re splashing the cash.
…Well imagine no more – that customer is real, and they are the homemover.
The home-moving gold mine for retail brands
Moving home is one of the most financially impactful life events. Our latest market analysis has revealed that nearly 1.5 million households were progressing through the homemover owner-occupied journey.
That means there is a huge audience out there - and their wallets are wide open. So, if homeware retailers are not pitching their products to the homemover, they are missing out on a slice of the eye-watering £21.4 billion a year this audience spends on retail goods and services.
Sounds fruitful, right? Before going wild and scouring endless listings on Rightmove looking for people selling homes, it might be worth considering some well-researched and proven facts about the buying behaviour of people moving homes.
We have been analysing residential property market data for many years, and what is evident is that there are certain patterns to homemover behaviour. It’s worth exploring these to better understand how to approach them and with what type of messages.
We found it essential to understand the mindset of individuals involved in the home-moving process to effectively engage and convert this audience. Additionally, it is important to recognise the appropriate timing for targeting them.
Why do people move home?
People move homes for various reasons, and understanding these triggers helps retailers target the right customers. Some are upsizing to start a family or move in with a partner, others need space for a home office or have climbed the property ladder thanks to a pay rise or inheritance. Moves can follow break-ups, be driven by school catchment areas, or simply be the classic urge for change, known as the seven-year itch, but for houses.
Understanding why people move helps retailers to anticipate what they’ll need next. Each reason behind the move comes with a unique set of priorities, emotions and purchase triggers. Each move brings significant change, something that the Transition Theory by Nancy Schlossberg highlights as a period when people reassess their situation, self, support and strategies. Retailers can tap into this by offering homemovers products and services that address their evolving needs, helping them navigate change and build new routines during this pivotal time. For retailers, this means recognising that homemovers are at a stage of transition, making them highly receptive to products and services to help them settle, establish new routines and feel supported in their new home. Retailers can act as the support system to offer helpful solutions during the disruptive time of moving and use empathetic messaging to get on side.
Tapping into people’s feelings
Moving home isn’t just a logistical event, going from A to B. A home represents stability, memories and a reflection of identity.
For the homemover, moving becomes an emotional rollercoaster filled with heightened stress, doubt and worry. Compare My Move found that 33% ranked moving home as the most stressful life event. It disrupts routines and the comfort of familiarity. Psychologist Robert Zajonc coined the Mere Exposure Effect, which explains that people tend to prefer things they are regularly exposed to over unfamiliar ones. Familiarity provides cognitive ease; our brains favour things that are easy to process. Routine helps reduce anxiety, while unfamiliarity often triggers unease. Moving home represents a significant leap into the unknown, challenging our sense of comfort and stability.
With this in mind, when marketing to homemovers, it’s important to remember just how overwhelmed they often feel during the process. Retailers can distinguish themselves by appearing at precisely the right moment, when assistance is required most, to alleviate some of that stress. Whether it’s moving into a new home without blinds and curtains, a new build lacking flooring, or a run-down Victorian property with outdated plumbing or unreliable wiring, these challenges add pressure to an already busy time. It’s usual for most to feel they’ve made a big mistake when they first take the keys to their new home. Once all the previous owner’s furniture has been removed, flaws are suddenly emphasised and regret sets in. Retailers can help them get over this buyer’s remorse. The homemover will have a list of repairs they want to fix or empty rooms that need decorating and filling with furniture.
Retailers can also further alleviate some of the stress by offering flexibility like fast delivery or ‘buy now, pay later’ options and using empathetic copy when communicating to this audience. After all, a helping hand is always welcomed while in moving box chaos!
Beyond the stress of moving, homemovers often experience feelings of nostalgia and sadness as they leave behind memories of their old home. Retailers can channel this emotion and alleviate these negative feelings in some way. For instance, self-storage providers can connect with this emotional journey by offering secure storage solutions. This gives movers the option to keep their sentimental belongings safe instead of having to part with cherished possessions, especially when downsizing.
Moving home is also the catalyst and hope for new beginnings and an exciting time of anticipation of new opportunities. Retailers can tap into this “fresh start” and “new chapter” mentality. People may be viewing their new property as a blank canvas and a chance to start anew. Movers are eager to reinvent, upgrade and define a new version of home. Retailers can sell this dream! Wickes has perfectly captured the idea of being “house proud” with their marketing. Their clever take on “housebarrassment”, (that awkward feeling when your home isn’t quite visitor-ready) really encourages people to renovate. When you move, friends and family are always eager to visit, and homemovers want their new place to look its best and to impress. This creates a great opportunity for retailers to connect with movers by helping them turn their new house into a home they’re proud to show off.
Emotional messages are a powerful tool that boosts customer loyalty, drives sales and increases brand awareness. Targeting homemovers is a prime example of ‘life event marketing,’ a time when customers are especially open to relevant messages.
By delivering timely, personalised marketing that speaks directly to their current life changes, you create meaningful connections. When you come to the rescue during this hectic period, you not only meet their needs but also build a stronger, lasting relationship with your brand.
Why do homemovers switch providers?
As mentioned earlier, people like familiarity. However, when someone experiences a big change like a house move, they look to re-establish familiar routines. They are ready to start afresh and build new habits.
This makes moving a prime opportunity for retailers to become part of the homemovers ‘new normal. They can make the most of the chance to be the first choice if they connect with movers right when they’re establishing new shopping habits. The Habit Disruption Theory developed by Wendy Wood explains how major life changes like moving home disrupt everyday habits, making people more open to adopting new behaviours. For retailers, this means homemovers are uniquely receptive to new products and services.
Moving house is a time when consumers review their existing relationships with providers. If they haven’t been happy with their energy provider or their broadband speed, this is when they’ll switch. In day-to-day life, most people tend to avoid life admin, often allowing subscriptions to roll on month after month just to avoid the hassle of calling up, cancelling and finding a new provider. When someone moves house, they’re forced to call up providers anyway, so it’s a great opportunity to cut ties with services that they’re no longer happy with. Smart Insights suggests that around 65% of consumers switch suppliers when they move. Interestingly, TGI found that this audience is 53% more likely to have used a comparison website and 139% more likely to have changed broadband supplier. This presents businesses with ample new customer acquisition opportunities.
Oftentimes, having services bundled together like TV and the Internet deters people from switching. According to Which?, those who have a TV, landline and broadband bundle are 2.6% less likely to switch than someone who just has broadband and/or a landline. If you add mobile into the mix, they are 5.1% less likely to switch. All of this goes out the window when people move. This audience is ready to review every one of their services, bundled or not!
Service providers should think about ways they can reduce the stress of switching for homemovers. Make the application process simple, so it’s one less thing for them to have to worry about. The homemover will be temporarily extra receptive to a new brand. This is why it’s so important to get in front of this audience at the right time. Take psychologist Kurt Lewin’s Change Model into account. The model states that providers must unfreeze old routines, change their environment and habits, and then refreeze in the new setting. The homemover will be doing this with service providers and retail brands at the time of moving. Retailers can capitalise on this changing phase and become part of the homemovers new routine if they strike when the iron is hot!
What do we know about home buying behaviour and marketing?
Homemovers’ purchasing needs are immediate and substantial, spanning multiple categories from big-ticket items to everyday essentials.
Homemoving contributes significantly to the UK economy. According to our analysis, the homemover segment contributes circa 3% to GDP through purchases made during the moving process (outside of the transaction value).
The Homemover Wave is our unique research methodology that combines our property market data with the brand's sales data to detect correlations between home moving and retail purchases. Using the provided sales records for a specific period, we can identify the best time to target consumers before or after their move to achieve a significant increase in revenue. Based on the industry and type of goods, as well as the completeness of the provided dataset, we generally observe that people who are moving homes (whether they are homeowners or renters) are at least three times more likely to purchase certain goods compared to people who are not moving homes.
The analysis we conduct for some of our national retail brands reveals that targeting homemovers is not only cost-effective but often delivers a higher return on investment (ROI) compared to broader or less specific audience segments.
- The acquisition cost of homemover audiences is lower than other audiences, making them a cost-effective target for marketers. Retail clients targeting homemovers have achieved an average ROI of £21:1, significantly outperforming typical direct mail or digital campaigns targeting broader audiences
- Homemovers are around 37% more valuable than non-movers, with average order values increasing by 70% and sustained higher spending for up to 13 months post-move
- Our direct mail campaign for Wayfair returned £8.4 million revenue and ROI of £7.9:1.
- Homemover marketing enables precise targeting (by property type, move stage, geography), resulting in higher conversion rates and reduced wasted spend compared to broad demographic or interest-based targeting
- Data-driven campaigns using mover intelligence can deliver a 30% uplift in accurate mover coverage and significantly increase conversions by reaching prospects at the most impactful moment
Accurate, timely data is the cornerstone of successful homemover campaigns, and our clients can vouch for it. Through efficient targeting combined with powerful marketing channels, we have consistently delivered a 50% revenue uplift for a top UK national bed retailer, and a similar result to a well-known kitchen and the nation's favourite blinds and curtains company.
Conclusion
With home moving comes a sea of expenditure. This purchase-ready customer spends a significant amount of money and is open to exploring new brands – a retailer’s dream!
By understanding their plight and appreciating that it’s an emotionally charged period, retailers and service providers can connect with consumers throughout the entire moving journey. Phases such as listing the home, searching for a new home, getting ready to move and settling in are all points in time when homemovers make major purchasing decisions.