Similar impressions are prevalent among consumers as well. In fact, NFT's recently released 2003 Laminate Flooring Market Study (the findings of which can be found in the August 2003 issue) quantified consumers' declining regard for the product. In the inaugural 2001 laminate study, dealers said that 69 percent of their customers responded very positively or somewhat positively to laminate flooring. By 2002, and again in 2003, only 64 percent of their clients held the same opinion of the product.
When it comes consumer perceptions of laminate durability, dealers this year said 68 percent of their clients viewed the product as highly durable, compared to the 73 percent and 72 percent who held that opinion in 2002 and 2001, respectively. And a similar magnitude of decline occurred in consumer perceptions of laminate quality. In 2001, dealers said 44 percent of their clientele considered laminate products to be of high quality. In this year's survey, that figure had fallen to 35 percent of the client base.