CHARLOTTE, NC — Kitchen designers have been significantly impacted by the current economic downturn, and are reporting that clients moving forward with a kitchen projects are altering their behavior to adjust for economic conditions.

That’s the key finding of a recently released research study conducted by the Research Institute for Cooking & Kitchen Intelligence (RICKI), a Charlotte, NC-based organization of manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and others whose revenue derives from kitchen remodeling and related activities.

According to RICKI, the study – called “Kitchen Intelligence: A Designer’s Perspective” – revealed that today’s consumers “are compromising on the scope of the project, being extra cautious to stay on budget and within the scale typical for the neighborhood, and voicing concern about the long-term stability of suppliers due to concern that the company may not be in business for service after the sale.”

“This is not a large quantitative survey, but does represent what a number of designers across the country are hearing from consumers,” said Brenda Bryan, RICKI’s executive director. She notes that the study was conducted via online discussion groups, a format similar to that used in traditional focus groups but within a longer time frame, “allowing for thoughtful feedback given at the designer’s convenience.”

Nineteen certified kitchen designers nationwide from RICKI’s proprietary “Kitchen Designer Panel” participated in the project, which took place over a period of three days in early December, and also probed trends in both kitchen design and specific product categories, including refrigeration, dishwashers, range/ovens/cooktops, range hoods/ventilation, cabinets, cabinet hardware, faucets, sinks and countertops.

AIR OF CAUTION

Around two-thirds of the designers participating in the study reported that the slowdown in the economy has negatively impacted the number of kitchen projects they are doing – some “dramatically.”

Still, a number of designers have clients who are moving forward with kitchen projects. Those designers told RICKI that clients who are moving forward with a kitchen project are altering their behavior to adjust for economic conditions in the following ways: