Contractors and the Web: A love/hate relationship

COMPILED BY:

JOHN MESENBRINK,

chief editor

A PDF copy of this article can be downloaded by clicking here.

Phc News is always interested in the characteristics of contractors. We want to know what they are up to, how they do it and how often. We are committed to bringing you the latest trends in the industry. That brings us to the latest Internet Usage Survey -- Phc News’ third such survey. What is revealed in this report is that some contractors are addicted to the Web and use the Internet all the time and others just don’t see the need or don’t trust it for business purposes.

We surveyed hundreds of contractors to get a gauge of their Internet- usage habits. How much time do they spend on the Net? Do they feel it is a valuable purchasing vehicle? Do they purchase online through a wholesaler? All these questions and more will be revealed in this report.

As with most of our surveys, we have to get the formalities out of the way first. The first question, important nonetheless, asked how many employees are at your shop.

1. How many people do you employ?

Forty-two percent claimed they employ 1-5 people and 18% employ 6-10 people, so you get the idea that more than half the respondents (60%) are smaller shops. Only 16% of those polled employ more than 50 people.

2. How often do you use the Internet?

Among this group polled, a majority -- and then some -- claimed to use the Internet daily -- 89% in fact. When we conducted this survey two years ago, all the respondents said that they used the Internet at least once per week. This time around, 3% claim that they never use it.

3. If used daily, how much spent on Net per day?

Nine out of 10 contractors said that they indeed use the Web daily. Of those surfing, 32% use it between 30-60 minutes per day. Twenty-one percent said 1-2 hours per day and 17% used it 2+ hours a day!

4. Do you use the Internet more for business or personal use?

Sixty percent of the respondents claim that they use the Net for business use.

5. Where do you find your main source of product information?

A huge chunk of those surveyed (82%) said that they go to the Internet/trade publication websites for product info. Company catalogs garnered 17% of the tallies.

6. Do you find the Internet to be a helpful educational tool?

Nearly all of those participating  (97%) claimed that they find the Internet a resourceful educational vehicle. Three percent said no. Must be the same 3% that don’t even bother with the Web.

7. Do you make businesses purchases directly from the Net?

The 2005 version of the Internet Usage survey revealed that 66% made business transactions via their computer. Guess what? Not much has changed. The exact same stat was tallied fo this year’s survey. However, do contractors feel the same about transaction security as they did in 2005? Seventy-four percent felt confident in their business dealings over the Net. Not this year!

8. Do you feel secure making business transactions over the Web?

The statistic has dropped to 65% of those feel fully confident. Two-thirds of the contractors surveyed still are skittish using the Web for business.

9. Do you find the Internet a helpful purchasing tool?

In sort of a reversal of thinking from the previous question, 86% said that the Internet is a great purchasing tool.

10. When did you start using the Internet?

The Internet is old hat for more than half (53%) of the contractors responding. They claim to have been using the Web for seven plus years, which sounds about right, in my opinion. Twenty-nine percent started using it 4-6 years ago and 17% said 1-3 years ago.

11. How often do you use the Internet at work?

Exactly half of those surveyed said they use the Internet one hour per day. More than one quarter (26%) use it two hours per day. Twelve percent use it three plus hours per day and also 12% never travel the virtual highway.

12. Do you use the Internet to place product orders with your wholesaler supplier?

Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed claim that they do not use the Net to make online purchase orders with their wholesaler. That statistic has held steady from two years ago. Perhaps wholesalers are not equipped to handle online orders, or perhaps it could be chalked up to contractor consistency.

13. If you place orders with your wholesalers, about how many times per month?

Of the 41% that responded yes to question 12, that same percentage (41%) place 1-5 product orders with their wholesaler suppliers. Twenty-six percent place somewhere between 6-10, 19% place 11-20 and 14% place 21+ purchase placements.

Phc News would like to thank everyone involved to make this year’s Internet survey a huge success!  

If you have any questions or comments about this survey, please contact Phc News chief editor, John Mesenbrink, at editor@phcnews.com.