Hamilton, OH - January 22, 2009 - Kaivac Inc. is introducing a new professional cleaning industry survey service in 2009: the KaiBusiness Tracking Survey.

The service, which will question cleaning professionals in a variety of market segments, will cover an assortment of industry-related issues. It is designed to help track trends and directions in the professional cleaning industry.

To introduce the KaiBusiness Tracking Survey service, the 2,900 subscribers to Kaivac’s monthly Kai-leidoscope newsletter were asked about their habits and experiences purchasing cleaning equipment online.

Approximately 45 percent of the respondents indicated that in the past year they have purchased cleaning tools, products, or equipment online a “few times or more.”

The product most commonly purchased online was floor-care equipment. This was followed by “accessories and parts for machines I own now.”

Some other key findings of the survey:

• Thirty percent say they call customer support before purchasing online; however, half say the manufacturer’s or distributor’s Web site has all the information they need to make a buying decision.
• Most of the purchases online are for cleaning products that are $500 or less.
• A third said returning a product purchased online was “difficult” while two-thirds reported it was “easy” or “satisfactory.”
• As to future online purchasing plans, half said they plan to purchase more products online and the remainder said it would be “about the same as it is now.”

“Although this survey did not report a major migration of cleaning professionals purchasing products and equipment online, it does show it is significant,” says Morrison. “It’s a direction that distributors and manufacturers cannot ignore.”