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The North American Hardware and Paint Association’s 2026 Cost of Doing Business Study is now available for purchase. It provides financial benchmarks for U.S. independent hardware stores, home centers, lumber and building materials outlets, and paint and decorating retailers, including gross-margin figures by category.
The North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA) has made its 2026 Cost of Doing Business Study available for purchase, giving independent U.S. retailers in four home-improvement categories financial benchmarks to compare against their own operations. The annual report covers hardware stores, home centers, lumber and building materials outlets, and paint and decorating outlets.
The study reports gross margin after rebates and dividends by business category, separating typical retailers from high-profit retailers. Hardware stores recorded 42.7% for typical businesses and 42.9% for high-profit businesses. Home centers recorded 33.0% and 32.7%, respectively.
For lumber and building materials outlets, the reported figures were 30.2% for typical outlets and 33.0% for high-profit outlets. Paint outlets were listed at 38.2% for both groups. These are category-level figures; the article does not provide the underlying sample sizes, survey period or definitions for the two groups.
Hardware Retailing, which published the announcement on October 31, says retailers can use the study to benchmark financial performance. The report is sold through the NHPA website. The announcement describes it as a resource for financial benchmarking, but does not give its price or detail every metric included in the full study.
Benchmarks for Independent Retailers
For independent operators, comparing a store’s results with figures from similar businesses can help identify areas where its financial performance differs from a peer group. The published margin figures offer a starting point for that comparison, though they do not establish what any particular retailer should achieve or explain the reasons behind the differences.
John Samore Jr., co-owner of Vermont Outlet True Value Hardware, said he conducts a gap analysis four times a year, comparing his operation with high-performing retailers. He said his review tracks sales, cost of goods sold, gross profit, sales per square foot, customer count and sales per customer. Samore said a recent analysis led him to take steps to address declining sales. His experience is an example from one retailer, not evidence that using the study will produce the same result for others.
The information may help owners frame decisions about costs and sales using figures from their industry. But a benchmark is not a diagnosis: local conditions, store format and other business-specific factors can affect how a retailer should interpret a comparison.
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A Long-Running Industry Study
Hardware Retailing says the Cost of Doing Business Study has provided detailed financial information for more than 100 years. The 2026 edition is aimed at independent retailers across the four listed sectors in the United States, rather than businesses generally.
The announcement emphasizes comparisons with high-performing retailers and names several measures Samore uses in his own analyses. It does not publish a complete table of results in the article: the four gross-margin comparisons are the specific figures provided there. Other findings, methods and financial measures would need to be checked in the purchased report.
Sherry Cothron of Coastal Nail & Tool Building Supply Center also endorsed the study, saying the data and insight gained from it are valuable. Her statement is a testimonial, while the article does not include independent evidence evaluating the study’s effect on retailer performance.
“Taking part in gap analyses using the Cost of Doing Business Study has improved our operation’s bottom line by focusing on the matrices and indices that enhance pre-income tax profits.”
— John Samore Jr., co-owner of Vermont Outlet True Value Hardware
Study Methods and Price Not Listed
The announcement does not state the study’s price, sample size, survey dates or the criteria used to classify retailers as typical or high-profit. It also does not include a full results table, so readers cannot assess from the article alone how the reported figures compare with prior editions or how much results vary within each category.
The published figures are gross margin after rebates and dividends; they should not be read as net profit or as a complete measure of a store’s financial health. The source provides no explanation for the differences between typical and high-profit groups, including why home centers show a slightly lower margin in the high-profit category.
Retailers Can Purchase the Report
Retailers interested in the full benchmarks can purchase the 2026 study through the NHPA page listed in the Hardware Retailing announcement: yournhpa.org/2026-cost-of-doing-business-study. The source says the report is available now; it does not announce a later release date or a planned update.
Readers seeking details beyond the summary figures will need to consult the full report or ask NHPA about its methodology, pricing and coverage. The next practical step for a retailer using the data is to compare relevant measures with its own records, while accounting for differences in business type and operating conditions.
Key Questions
Who is covered by the 2026 Cost of Doing Business Study?
The study covers U.S. independent hardware stores, home centers, lumber and building materials outlets, and paint and decorating outlets, according to the announcement.
What gross-margin figures did the announcement publish?
Gross margin after rebates and dividends was listed as 42.7% typical and 42.9% high-profit for hardware stores; 33.0% and 32.7% for home centers; 30.2% and 33.0% for LBM outlets; and 38.2% for both groups of paint outlets.
Does the article say how much the study costs?
No. The announcement says the report is available for purchase through NHPA, but does not state its price.
Do the published margins show a retailer’s expected profit?
No. They are category-level gross-margin benchmarks after rebates and dividends, not net-profit figures or a forecast for an individual store. The announcement does not provide enough methodological detail to determine how closely a specific business matches the reported groups.
Source: hardwareretailing.com
