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The North American Hardware and Paint Association’s 2026 Cost of Doing Business Study is available for purchase. It provides financial benchmarks for independent U.S. hardware stores, home centers, lumber and building materials outlets, and paint and decorating retailers, including gross margins after rebates and dividends.
The North American Hardware and Paint Association has made its 2026 Cost of Doing Business Study available for purchase, offering financial benchmarks for independent U.S. hardware stores, home centers, lumber and building materials outlets, and paint and decorating retailers. The figures are intended to help owners compare their operations with industry peers and identify areas for review.
The study reports gross margin after rebates and dividends by business type. Hardware stores recorded a typical margin of 42.7%, compared with 42.9% for high-profit stores. For home centers, the figures were 33.0% typical and 32.7% high-profit. Lumber and building materials outlets reported 30.2% typical and 33.0% high-profit, while paint outlets recorded 38.2% for both categories.
Those comparisons do not show the same pattern in every segment: high-profit hardware stores were slightly above the typical figure, home centers were slightly below it, and paint outlets matched it. The source article does not define the study’s high-profit classification or provide the full methodology alongside these figures, so the margin data should be read as benchmarks rather than a forecast or target for any one business.
Hardware Retailing reported the study’s availability on October 31, 2026, and directed readers to the NHPA website to purchase it. The article describes the report as covering detailed financial information intended for independent retailers, but does not state the purchase price, sample size, or the precise period represented by the financial data.
How Retailers Can Use the Benchmarks
For independent retailers, comparing financial results with businesses in the same sector can help show where further analysis may be useful. The study’s margin figures by store type offer one point of comparison, while the association describes the report as a broader source of financial information for evaluating a business.
Hardware Retailing quoted John Samore Jr., co-owner of Vermont Outlet True Value Hardware, describing a quarterly gap analysis using the study’s figures. He said he reviews sales, cost of goods sold, gross profit, sales per square foot, customer count and sales per customer, then uses the comparison to decide where to focus. His account is an example from one retailer, not evidence that the study will produce the same results for other businesses.
The practical value depends on how closely a retailer’s operation matches the categories and definitions used in the report. Store format, local market, product mix and business costs can all affect results. A benchmark can prompt questions about performance, but it does not by itself explain why a business differs from the reported figures.
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A Long-Running Retail Benchmark
Hardware Retailing says the association’s Cost of Doing Business Study has provided financial information for more than 100 years. The 2026 edition covers independent retailers in four categories: hardware stores, home centers, lumber and building materials outlets, and paint and decorating outlets.
The publication’s stated purpose is financial benchmarking: retailers can compare their own numbers with figures for their segment, including the study’s typical and high-profit results. The supplied article highlights gross margin after rebates and dividends, but says the larger report contains more detailed financial information. It does not provide additional tables or describe how the study gathers or analyzes its data.
In comments published with the announcement, Samore said he conducts gap analyses four times a year and had taken steps to address declining sales after a recent review. Sherry Cothron of Coastal Nail & Tool Building Supply Center also praised the study’s information, calling its results and data “priceless.” These are attributed endorsements; the article provides no independent evaluation of the study’s impact.
“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
Details Beyond the Margin Figures
The announcement does not specify the study’s sample size, data-collection process, reporting period, purchase price or the criteria used to define high-profit retailers. It also does not include the complete set of financial benchmarks, making it unclear from the article alone how the report treats other costs or differences among businesses within each category.
The margin figures are presented as typical and high-profit comparisons, but no ranges or measures of variation are supplied in the source material. A retailer cannot infer from these figures alone whether a particular result is unusual, or what operational changes could account for a gap.
Retailers Can Review the Full Study
Retailers interested in the methodology, additional financial measures and purchase terms can consult the 2026 study listing on the NHPA website, which Hardware Retailing identifies as the place to buy the report. The association’s release, as described in the article, does not announce a later event or publication milestone.
For businesses that use the figures, the next step would be to compare their own records with the relevant store category and investigate differences across multiple measures, rather than treating one margin figure as a complete assessment. The source article does not report any further updates or additional findings beyond the study’s availability and selected margin data.
Key Questions
What is the 2026 Cost of Doing Business Study?
It is a financial benchmarking report from the North American Hardware and Paint Association for independent U.S. hardware stores, home centers, lumber and building materials outlets, and paint and decorating retailers.
What gross-margin figures does the article report?
After rebates and dividends, typical and high-profit margins were 42.7% and 42.9% for hardware stores; 33.0% and 32.7% for home centers; 30.2% and 33.0% for lumber and building materials outlets; and 38.2% for both paint outlet categories.
Where can retailers purchase the study?
Hardware Retailing directs readers to the NHPA’s 2026 Cost of Doing Business Study page at yournhpa.org/2026-cost-of-doing-business-study. The article does not give the price.
Do the benchmarks guarantee improved business results?
No such guarantee is stated. The article presents the data as a benchmarking resource and includes one retailer’s account of using it for regular gap analyses. That experience does not establish that other businesses will see the same results.
Source: hardwareretailing.com
