The peak day for retail purchases among homemovers occurs on the first day after their move, analysis from information and marketing services company TwentyCi has found.
This single day accounts for 1.3% of all orders placed by homemovers and within the initial week following the homemove, 7.7% of orders are made, rising to 23.8% throughout the first month.
The analysis, from TwentyCi’s latest Property & Homemover Report, was based on purchases made in 2024 by tracking homemovers from six-months before their move to one-year afterwards.
The chart below illustrates the percentage of all orders, revealing a strong peak around the day of the home move, which is indicated as day zero on the x-axis.
The percentage of orders placed after the move consistently exceeds those placed beforehand, with the middle half of all orders occurring between 8 and 176 days post-move.
The key question is how spending patterns vary depending on the types of products homemovers purchase. To explore this, TwentyCi adapted Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs into a Homemover Hierarchy of Expenditure.
This framework applies Maslow’s idea of prioritising human needs to spending habits, helping identify which purchases are urgent essentials and which can be postponed. The table below reveals when homeowners purchase specific goods.
| Product | Timescale for purchase |
| Broadband | Typically arranged before moving house. |
| Furniture, in particular beds and sofas | The peak day for these orders tends to fall on either the first or second day after getting the keys. The middle 50% of all orders occur between -3 and 190 days, indicating a significant number of non-immediate purchases. This likely includes movers who are upgrading their existing furniture, rather than buying out of immediate necessity. |
| Flooring | The middle 50% of orders begin at 11 days post-move. It is reasonable to assume the delay stems from the need for precise measurements before committing to a flooring purchase. |
| DIY expenditure | Tends to start almost immediately. Higher spend items follow, along with home improvements and kitchen and bathrooms. The most popular day for orders among these sectors is the 12th day after the move, with half of all purchases taking place between days 12 to 157. |
| Soft furnishings | The peak spend occurs in the second month after moving. |
| Car purchases | The peak day for ordering typically lands in the second month after moving. Half of all purchases start on the 35th day after the move and continue until the 254th day after the move. So, while the peak is two months post-move, the orders flow almost throughout the first nine months of moving house. |
Colin Bradshaw, CEO of TwentyCi said: “These insights into homemover spending patterns provide a golden opportunity to refine marketing campaign strategies and optimise budgets.
“By aligning promotions and messaging with key purchasing windows, such as focusing on broadband and furniture advertising before and shortly after the move, then transitioning to high-value items and soft furnishings, brands can engage buyers at precisely the right moments.
“Whether a large national retailer or an independent business, understanding these timelines allows for precision in targeting, helping build stronger connections with homemovers and ultimately driving brand loyalty and sales growth in this lucrative market.”
