Following a decline in construction activity in the country as a whole, the main focus of consumers has shifted to the improvement of already built objects, Dmytro Tanko, Director of Retail Trade at the Epicenter chain, said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

According to him, the volume of sales of construction materials in quantity terms decreased in 2024 y-o-y, and in monetary terms, some categories show growth.

"In quantity terms, almost all categories have sagged. In monetary [due to inflation], dry construction mixes show a slight positive trend, at the level of 4-5%. Exterior finishing, including insulation systems - plus 25%, and construction chemicals - plus 15%," Tanko said.

He added that the greatest growth is observed in infrastructure construction, where the main customer is the state, including construction of fortifications.

As for the eRecovery program, last year, after its launch, the growth was significant, but with a clear regional distribution.

"The highest consumption was in the east and south. In Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions, during the stabilization period, people were actively restoring their homes, unfortunately, the situation has changed now," he said.

At the same time, people who took advantage of the opportunity to purchase goods under this program already in the status of IDPs, often bought not construction goods, but gardening ones.

"For example, in Stry [Lviv region], we really did not have time to bring in gardening equipment, everything was literally swept off the shelves," Tanko said.

In general, the share of construction materials purchased online under the eRecovery program in total sales does not even reach 1%.

The Epicenter Group of Companies is an omnichannel ecosystem that unites the Epicenter and Nova Liniia retail chains, the epicentrk.ua online store, the Epicenter-Agro agricultural holding, the Epicenter Ceramic Corporation ceramic tile factories, the Osmoloda woodworking enterprise, logistics facilities and other assets.