Compare Home Improvement Stores in New Zealand at Canstar Blue. Mitre 10 and Bunnings Warehouse were compared on Overall Satisfaction, Online Store, Range of Brands, Range of Products, Service & Advice and Value for Money.
See our Ratings Methodology.
The nation’s DIYers have spoken, rating Mitre 10 the No.1 home improvement store for customer satisfaction.
Our review compares home improvement stores on customer satisfaction, so you can discover what other Kiwis think about our compared home improvement stores before you head off to purchase your home improvement and DIY supplies. Think of it like asking hundreds of your closest friends and family members which home improvement store they think provides the best service, products and value for money!
Canstar Blue surveyed 1644 Kiwis who had made a purchase from a home improvement store over the past 12 months, and asked them for their feedback on their choice of store.
Respondents rate their satisfaction with their home improvement stores from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:
The winning home improvement store is the one that receives the highest Overall Satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall Satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
Find more information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.
Congratulations to Mitre 10 for winning Canstar Blue’s top accolade: Most Satisfied Customers | Home Improvement Stores. This year is the fourth time that Mitre 10 has won our award since its inauguration in 2018, and is an achievement based on a perfect set of ratings from its customers.
Across all categories assessed for our award, Mitre 10 earns top 5-Star ratings for customer satisfaction.
Mitre 10, NZ’s largest home-improvement and garden retailer, has been a part of New Zealand’s home improvement culture since 1974. A Kiwi co-operative, it operates 84 stores nationwide, which employ over 8000 people and support more than 500 local suppliers.
In addition to its huge range of DIY and home improvement products, Mitre 10 offers a range of in-store and in-home services across its stores. These include:
On its website, Mitre 10 has an extensive library of how-to videos. Each offers expert advice on DIY jobs, from easy painting and decorating tasks, to full-scale garden remodelling projects, such repairing and building decking, to installing retaining walls and fencing.
Mitre 10 has a club for loyal customers that offers exclusive deals and access to monthly prize draws. In addition, all customers can earn Airpoints Dollars™ on their purchases and can take advantage of the store’s price guarantee: if you find a lower price on an identical in-stock product, Mitre 10 will beat it by 15%.
Last year’s award winner, Bunnings earns a great set of scores from its customers across all the measures of satisfaction. It earns its highest rating in the all-important category of Value for Money, and excellent 4-Star ratings in every other field.
Bunnings is one of the biggest retailers of home improvement products in Australasia. Operating in New Zealand for over 20 years, it has 42 stores nationwide.
In addition to a huge range of materials and products, for both everyday consumers and trade, Bunnings offers an extensive collection of in-store and at-home services, from kitchen design to the assembly and installation of purchases.
Bunnings also offers Flybuys and has a price promise: to beat a competitor’s lower price on the same stocked item by 15%. Plus, Bunnings has a handy app, that allows you to plan what you need to purchase for your next DIY job and check in-store stock availability.
On its website, Bunning has a host of DIY-help videos, plus it hosts its own online community, which offers feedback, tips and overviews for DIY projects around the home.
Not all brands in the market qualify for our ratings (based on minimum survey sample size), but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth considering. Here are more brands to check out before making a purchase decision.
PlaceMakers is the retail side of Fletcher Building Limited. It’s the country’s leading and largest supplier of building materials and hardware and operates 62 stores nationally.
PlaceMakers sells a wide range of building materials, such as cladding, roofing and scaffolding, making it a popular choice with tradies. However, it also offers a full range of products for home DIYers.
Hammer Hardware has been in business for over 30 years. Run as a co-operative, it has over 40 stores nationwide. Each is locally owned and operated and focuses on offering great advice and service.
Hammer Hardware retails a full range of home hardware, tools and DIY equipment, as well as some building supply products, such as cement and plywood.
ITM stands for Independent Timber Merchants, and is a co-operative of independent retailers of building supplies and hardware.
While, primarily, it supplies products to tradies and the building industry, it also caters to home DIYers, selling a full range of power tools, paints and hardware, as well as Uno flatpack kitchens and wardrobes.
Over past years, Service and Advice has always been the main concern of those surveyed for our Home Improvement Stores Award and the main driver of customer satisfaction.
However, this year, Value for Money is the No.1 concern, cited by over a third of respondents as the key factor they consider when rating their choice of home improvement store. It’s a huge shift from last year, when it ranked second (17%) behind Service & Advice (48%).
The prominence of Value for Money in this year’s award ratings is part of a swing we’ve seen across all of Canstar Blue’s research. It shows that when household budgets are stretched, Kiwi consumers place Value for Money above all other concerns.
It’s also amusing to note that not one person in our survey places any value in the online-retail experience, showing that home improvement shopping is still all about bricks and mortar!
Here’s how those in our survey rate the main things they consider when assessing their home improvement stores:
About the author of this pageThis report was written by Canstar’s Editor, Bruce Pitchers. Bruce has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in the UK and Australasia, including ACP, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. Prior to Canstar, he worked as a freelancer, including for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority, and for real estate companies on both sides of the Tasman.
Prefer to browse in store, rather than online: 59%
Visit home improvement stores for garden supplies, rather than a dedicated garden centre: 54%
Prefer to DIY rather than hire a tradie: 41%
Watch online how-to videos for guidance on DIY projects: 39%
If there is a sausage sizzle outside the store, will usually buy one: 30%
Always leave the store with more than intended to buy: 29%
Always finish one DIY project before tackling another: 25%
DIY projects always throw up unforeseen problems: 14%
To save money: 77%
Because I enjoy it: 73%
I’ve had a negative experience with contractors: 7%
In-store: 94%
Online/Click and Collect: 6%
Canstar Blue surveyed 2505 New Zealand consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from respondents who had made a purchase at a home improvement store in the past 12 months. In this case, 1644 New Zealanders. Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criterion.
The past winners from Canstar Blue’s Home Improvement Stores ratings:
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