A residential trade professional’s phone, wallet, and keys don’t measure up to having one particular tool on hand. Their tape measure.
According to a national survey from STANLEY, 75% of over 1,000 trade pros say they reach for their tape measure more than five times per day and 50% use it at least 10 times per day.
Over three-quarters say they feel incomplete without their tape measures and having their tape measure on hand even trumps having their phones, wallets, and keys for 42% of trade professionals.
Forty-four percent say they would rather go without their morning coffee than be on a jobsite without their tape measure. Nearly 2 in 3 trade workers report misplacing their tape measure at least once a day and 28% say their tape measure is misplaced as many as three times per day. Yet, 38% say they own more than three tape measures.
In terms of purpose, residential contractors most often use a tape measure for measuring to cut materials to size (65%), measuring room dimensions (44%), and estimating material needs (38%). Nearly two-thirds say they use different types of tape measures for different jobs.
Top priorities for picking their beloved tape measure includes the length of the tape measure (71%) and the reach of the tape measure (65%). To meet the demand of trade pros, STANLEY manufactures nearly 30 million measuring tapes a year and has processed enough steel to circle the world multiple times, the company says.
