Now even Gen Zers are planning home improvements—and many may even finance digitally with their phones.

These and other homeowner insights could prove useful to residential contractors, including electricians, according to the 2025 Consumer Trends in the Trades Report by trade software provider ServiceTitan, Glendale, Calif., developed in collaboration with Visa and Synchrony, a consumer financing company.

For younger homeowners whose mortgage rates were under 3%, 53% of Gen Zers (ages 18–29) and millennials (ages 30–45) said they are planning major improvements or upgrades to their home in the next two years. Comparatively, only 43% of Gen Xers (ages 46–59) and 34% of baby boomers (ages 60–80) said the same— though they could have improved their home in prior years.

More homeowners, especially in the younger generations, are increasingly open to paying online for home improvements, according to the report. While just 16% of home service payments are currently made online, acceptance is growing, even among older generations. More homeowners are now paying via a website, through an SMS link, through an emailed invoice or by setting up a recurring payment.

“They want to pay you the way that they want to pay you—you have to be a company that will accommodate all of your different customers,” said Angie Snow, principal industry advisor for ServiceTitan and co-owner of Western Heating, Air and Plumbing, Orem, Utah.

“My generation, we were a little hesitant to attach our bank account to businesses for payment, but we’re getting used to that,” Snow said. “What type of payments can I automate? I look to automate as much as I can, so I don’t have to worry about it.”

As part of this, the use of checks for paying contractors is decreasing, from 59% in 2015 to 36% in 2024, while credit card payments are rising, from 27% to 37% during the same time period. In fact, more homeowners prefer to finance their upgrades, and a third would change their minds about a purchase if financing were not available.

“The need to offer financing is no longer, ‘Oh, that’s a good sales practice.’ It’s a must-do sales practice now. You can’t assume that anybody just has the ability to pay for something anymore,” said Chris Hunter, director of customer relations for ServiceTitan.

Contractors also benefit: those who offer financing see 12% higher close rates and 13% higher ticket sizes compared to contractors who don’t use it, according to the report.

Another insight detailed in the report: there are an increasing number households with the limited ability to speak English. Among such households, Spanish is the most frequent language spoken at home, followed by Chinese and Vietnamese.

In the contracting company he previously owned, Hunter said, “We had to be intentional about trying to hire somebody in the office and in the field and then identify up front that the home was Spanish-speaking, to make sure we sent those technicians to their house.”

Voice translation apps can help when explaining upgrades, but contractors should not use those to translate pricing, warranties, cancellation periods or financing details, according to the report.

Another key takeaway for contractors is that women are the primary decision-makers in 65% of U.S. remodeling projects, and they value trust, branding and clear pricing options when choosing a contractor.