Daphne Doody-Green: The path to purchase – earning the bathroom customer’s confidence

Daphne Doody-Green, CEO of the Bathroom Association, explores how the changing path to purchase is reshaping customer expectations, and how bathroom businesses can build confidence through expertise, reliable information and service.

Through our conversations with members and wider industry stakeholders, we are hearing about the significant changes in how customers research and purchase bathroom products. While the route to purchase may be evolving, the need for confidence and trust remains constant.

A customer can arrive in a bathroom showroom with a phone full of inspiration, several prices saved and a firm idea of the finish they want. Yet they may still be unsure whether their choices will work in their home, or where to spend their budget.

For bathroom businesses, the opportunity lies in helping customers turn that research into informed decisions they feel confident making. One theme consistently emerges from our conversations: the customer journey is changing. Understanding customers, using insights better, and adapting to evolving expectations are becoming increasingly important for businesses across the bathroom sector.

These shifts have practical implications across the bathroom supply chain, influencing how products are presented, information is shared, and customers are supported. The path to purchase can involve social media, online searches, recommendations, conversations with installers and showroom visits. Customers may discover a product through one business, research it through another and seek professional advice before deciding where to buy.

For many businesses, earning consideration now comes before building loyalty. Customers may be familiar with a style, trend or retailer long before they recognise the product brands behind them. This places greater importance on visibility, consistency and ensuring that accurate, reliable product information is available wherever customers are researching and making decisions.

Businesses therefore need to consider how these different stages connect. Clear website information, straightforward appointment booking and consistent advice help customers progress. A showroom visit should build on earlier research, while timely follow-up should help resolve any remaining uncertainties.

Consistency matters because customers experience these interactions as parts of the same purchase journey. Conflicting product information or an unanswered enquiry can weaken confidence, even when the individual products and showroom presentation are strong.

The showroom has an important role in bringing a bathroom project into focus. Customers can handle products, compare finishes and understand proportions in ways that are difficult to replicate on screen. Alongside that physical experience, knowledgeable staff can explain the practical consequences of different choices.

Clear advice helps customers assess whether a bathroom will work for them over time. However, that advice depends partly on the quality of information available across the supply chain. Manufacturers and distributors can support retailers through accessible technical guidance, accurate product details and responsive support.

Insight also deserves a place alongside experience and commercial instinct. Understanding customer behaviour, preferences and concerns can help businesses respond more effectively to changing expectations. This need not require an elaborate system. A few useful details, captured consistently and reviewed regularly, can inform showroom displays, website content and staff development.

Technology should be assessed on the same basis. Digital tools, including AI where appropriate, can help organise information and reduce routine administration. Their value lies in making the customer experience easier and allowing teams to focus more on advice, expertise and service.

Another recurring theme in our discussions with members is the importance of adaptability and workforce capability. Responding effectively to changing customer expectations requires knowledgeable teams, clear responsibilities and the ability to improve processes when feedback highlights opportunities for improvement.

For our sector, the changing path to purchase creates both a challenge and an opportunity. By combining reliable information with practical expertise, we can help customers move from inspiration to informed decision-making. In doing so, we help deliver bathrooms that meet customers' needs while strengthening trust in the businesses and professionals who guide them.