According to a recent industry report, an uptick in electric radiant floor-heating sales can be largely attributed to double-digit increases in online orders.

WarmlyYours Radiant Heating’s “2017 First Quarter Industry Report” finds the first quarter of 2017 showed a 5.3% increase in total consolidated sales of WarmlyYours products and a 5.2% increase in electric floor heating, the company’s flagship product line. This growth, the company noted, largely can be attributed to a sizable increase in orders with an online origin. According to the report, the first quarter of 2017 saw a 13.5% increase in the number of online orders and a 12.4% increase in the amount spent on online orders when compared to prior-year-period.

The report identifies two primary causes for this shift in consumer behavior: increasing remodeling activity at the national level and significant developments to the WarmlyYours website.

“WarmlyYours expects [online orders] to increase even more due to the launch of revamped product pages which were pushed live in the last week of the [Q1 2017]. These new product pages reflect a more streamlined and user-friendly interface for consumers and should help increase conversion rates across all metrics,” the company explained.

Additionally, the report analyzes the current projections for remodeling activity and the national housing market, which is facing a shortage of available inventory. These factors led to several product line projections for WarmlyYours within the report.

“With the national housing market in its current state of inventory-related pressure, we expect to see a noticeable uptick in [floor heating] sales as ‘fixer-upper’ units enter the market and first-time buyers begin the necessary renovations. As a whole, WarmlyYours online and e-tailer sales are poised to grow due to an expanded portfolio of available products and a more fully realized digital marketing strategy,” WarmlyYours stated.

The company pointed out these developments can already be seen within first-quarter sales via e-tailers such as Costco, which increased 12.6% in sales of WarmlyYours products. Interestingly, sales of electric floor-heating systems were the only product line to dip in first quarter e-tailer sales, while all other product lines increased for a cumulative gain of 14%. Of note, were towel warmer sales, which grew 32.6%.

Julia Billen, the owner and president of WarmlyYours, pointed to website improvements and new product launches as the primary vectors for continued growth for WarmlyYours.

“2017 is shaping up to be a great year for WarmlyYours,” she said. “A lot of long-term projects concerning the website and our product portfolio are just coming to fruition. I couldn’t be more excited about our future.”