People in lockdown search for decking

Search engine data indicated the term ‘decking’ had been searched twice as many times in the days following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s pleads for everyone to stay put.

“This backs-up an increase in consumer enquiries we have been receiving. For both samples and for customers wanting to know where to buy our products,” said Charles Taylor, sales director of Composite Prime.

“It’s good news for Timber Merchants and Builders Merchants who are able to continue trading online. We are actively working and assessing each day which stockists are open with availability for delivery and passing this information on to consumers.

“This is currently changing everyday although the last few days have seen an increase to the number of stockists offering limited, safe service - around 80% were completely shut last week, this week looks to be around 65%.

“Consumers are wanting something to do whilst on lockdown – they are cancelling holidays and accepting the fact that this summer they may be staying at home, thus disposable income is going into home improvements such as making their garden and outside spaces more appealing.

“Stockists are caught between a rock and hard place, they are trying to do the right thing, keeping staff and customers safe, while responding to increasing demand. Not only from the public sector such as NHS and Education but also the professional and private sectors.”

Composite decking manufacturer Composite Prime, carried out research using the Google Trends platform which takes account of over 3.5 billion searches a day.