Sep 11, 2023   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Canadians Love the Convenience, Cost Savings of Subscriptions, According to Service Line Warranties of Canada

Subscription services are available for almost anything – from everyday things like television and clothing to more niche offerings like flowers and beauty products – and everything in between. The popularity of these subscriptions was confirmed in the latest Service Line Warranties of Canada State of the Home survey.

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  • The survey found that almost nine out of 10 respondents (87%) have a TV entertainment streaming subscription, while more than half (62%) use a subscription music service and, coming in third, nearly a third (29%) have a subscription gaming service.
  • Other subscription services that topped the list of the most popular were meal or food delivery (18%) and online news and books (17%). Trailing these significantly but rounding out the top ten were hobbies and home goods (6%), beauty and spa (5.5%) adult fashions (5.5%), pet supplies (5%) and children’s clothing and entertainment (3%).
  • When asked why they pay for a subscription service, respondents said subscriptions make life easier (39%), they wanted to obtain specialty or hard-to-come-by products (25%) or they enjoy cost savings (18%) and the fun factor (18%).

Home Repair Emergencies and Financial Preparedness

The survey also explored the most frequent types of home repair emergencies and looked at homeowners’ ability to pay for these inevitable repairs.

  • Four out of five (80%) of homeowners reported having one or more home repair emergencies in the past 12 months, a huge jump from the 68% figure homeowners reported in the inaugural survey in 2022.
  • Clogged drains topped the list with a third of homeowners (33%) reporting having one in the past 12 months.
  • Other home repair hassles included heating or air conditioning repair or replacement (22%), clogged or overflowing toilets (22%), clogged sink (18%), water heater repair or replacement (16%) or water service lines (9%).
  • One quarter (25%) of homeowners reported having $500 or less or nothing set aside for a repair emergency, while another 14% reported having more than $500, but less than $1,000.

Skilled Trades

Will I be able to find a good contractor to complete my repair when an emergency strikes? This is a question that homeowners often find asking themselves as the availability – or lack thereof – of qualified electricians, plumbers and other skilled workers has been well documented.

The survey examined some of the perceptions around skilled trades, including perceived starting salaries and whether the education system places too much priority on four year college paths versus promoting skilled technical training to more students.

When asked what they thought the starting yearly salary of a skilled tradesperson (e.g., electrician, plumber) is, 5% thought it would be less than $25,000 and 15% guessed it would be between $25,000 and $35,000.

According to Talent.com, the median annual salary for a skilled tradesperson is $70,200, with entry-level positions averaging at $53,381 a year and experienced workers making an average of $89,892. Although pay varies by province, the average hourly wage for an electrician can range from $34 to $35 and $28 to $34 for a plumber, according to Living in Canada.

The survey also gauged perceptions of whether schools give the proper amount of attention to higher education options other than four-year colleges, like skilled trades. More than half of respondents (54%) thought that the proper amount of attention was either not or probably not given to education about the skilled trades.

To learn more about the survey, visit the Service Line Warranties of Canada website. This survey was conducted on August 7, 2023, by Service Line Warranties of Canada, using SurveyMonkey Audience. Service Line Warranty of Canada’s survey received 900 responses from adults in Canada age 18 and older, of which 528 were homeowners. The sample of respondents was balanced by gender and region. For more on the SurveyMonkey Audience panel, please visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/market-research/data-quality/.

About Service Line Warranties of Canada

Service Line Warranties of Canada (SLWC) is part of HomeServe, a leading provider of home repair solutions serving nearly 5 million customers across North America since 2003.

Together with HomeServe, SLWC, launched in 2014, is dedicated to supplying best-in-class repair plans and delivering superior customer service to consumers through over 1,200 leading city, municipal and utility partners across North America.