New research suggests poor product information management could cost UK construction £3.8bn annually. Eazier explores what this means for construction marketers and how better communication can help build trust.
The UK construction industry could be losing as much as £3.8 billion a year because of inefficient product data management. That’s the estimate from research published by GS1 UK and Barbour ABI earlier this year, and it puts a considerable price on a problem that has been troubling the sector for some time.
For manufacturers and construction marketers, the implications are significant. If the information supporting a product is difficult to access, interpret or compare, it becomes harder to demonstrate its value, build confidence among specifiers and ultimately influence purchasing decisions.
The research, involving 317 construction professionals across the UK, found that 60% believe inefficiencies in managing product information are hampering progress. Almost half (48%) described their existing approaches as disorganised.
The £3.8 billion figure is an estimate based on potential efficiency gains, rather than a directly measured financial loss. Nevertheless, the findings point to an industry struggling to manage the growing volume of information it produces and relies upon.
For manufacturers and construction marketers, this deserves attention. Considerable investment goes into producing technical documentation, sustainability information and product marketing materials. Yet the findings suggest that the people responsible for specifying and using products are still encountering significant barriers when accessing the information they need.
More information, but is it making life easier?
The Building Safety Act and the industry’s commitment to maintaining a golden thread of information have rightly increased expectations around the quality and traceability of construction product data.
The intention is to ensure that those responsible for a building can access reliable information about what has been specified and installed, and understand how decisions were made throughout its lifecycle.
However, the GS1 UK findings highlight the distance the sector still has to travel. While 98% of respondents were aware of the Building Safety Act, only 21% said they were fully prepared to meet its requirements.
The research also found that more than three-quarters of respondents still rely on static documents such as PDFs and brochures to manage or share product information. These formats have their place, but keeping information accurate and consistent across different organisations can become difficult when products or specifications change.
For a contractor comparing alternative products, or an architect assessing whether a particular solution meets the requirements of a project, the consequences are practical. Information might exist, but locating the right version or establishing whether the evidence is relevant to the intended application can take considerable time.
There is also the question of how confidently the information can be interpreted.
Take sustainability claims, for example. A manufacturer might publish impressive embodied carbon figures, supported by detailed calculations and an Environmental Product Declaration. But those figures are only useful to someone making a specification decision if the underlying assumptions are understood and the information can be meaningfully compared with alternatives.
The same applies to technical performance. Test data can demonstrate how a product performs under particular conditions, but those conditions matter. Without sufficient context, even accurate information can leave the recipient with unanswered questions.
This distinction is becoming increasingly important as the government pursues further reform of the construction products regime. Its 2026 Construction Products Reform White Paper sets out expectations for information to be accessible and verifiable, alongside proposals for clearer requirements around the evidence supporting product claims.
A challenge for construction marketers
Much of the work needed to improve construction product information sits beyond the marketing department. It requires better systems and a commitment to maintaining reliable data across the business.
But marketers have an important part to play in how that information reaches the people who need it. Working with manufacturers and businesses across the built environment, we see the depth of technical knowledge that exists within organisations. Engineers and product specialists often have a wealth of information that could help customers make better decisions. The challenge is translating that expertise into communications that are genuinely useful.
A product launch might focus on the technical innovation behind a new solution, for instance, when a specifier is more interested in understanding its suitability for a particular application. A case study might celebrate the successful completion of a project without explaining the decisions that made it successful.
These are missed opportunities to demonstrate expertise in a way that resonates with the intended audience.
Construction marketers need a closer understanding of how their customers assess products and what information influences their decisions. That means engaging with technical teams earlier, questioning whether claims are properly supported and considering the practical circumstances in which the information will be used.
It also means recognising that different audiences need different levels of detail. A contractor assessing installation requirements is unlikely to approach a product in the same way as a consultant evaluating whole-life performance.
There is little value in simply giving everyone the same information and expecting them to find what matters.
This is where good communications can make a difference. Clear explanations, relevant project evidence and accessible supporting documentation can reduce the effort required to understand a product’s capabilities. They also give manufacturers an opportunity to demonstrate that they understand their customers’ challenges.
Importantly, clarity should never come at the expense of technical accuracy. Simplifying complex information is valuable, provided the evidence remains intact and the limitations of a claim are understood.
Making information work harder
Construction is under considerable pressure to improve the way product information is recorded and shared. The GS1 UK research provides a timely reminder of the cost of getting this wrong.
There is an opportunity for construction brands to review the effectiveness of their own communications alongside the systems used to manage product information. That starts with understanding which evidence customers genuinely value, where they encounter difficulties and whether existing materials answer the questions they are trying to resolve.
It may reveal opportunities to improve how technical information is presented, make supporting evidence easier to access or use real-world project experience to give greater context to performance claims.
Ultimately, the industry’s investment in better information should help people make decisions with greater confidence.
For construction marketers, success will increasingly depend on how effectively they can connect the expertise within their businesses to the needs of the people specifying and using their products. The brands that do this well will be in a stronger position to earn trust and influence decisions.
This is the first in a series of articles exploring The Data Game and the growing relationship between information, evidence and trust in construction. We’ll be taking the conversation further at London Build Expo 2026, the UK’s leading and largest construction and design show. Eazier will be bringing together industry voices to explore how construction marketers can cut through the noise.
Join us for The Data Game: Cutting through construction’s information overload.
Book your free place and add the details to your diary:
Date: Wednesday 25 November 2026
Time: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Location: Networking Hub, London Build Expo 2026, Excel London.
