• May 14, 2012

A new report from the NPD Group says that sales in the home improvement category are up 11% in dollars in the 12-month period ending in March, and that unit sales are up 6%.

Top sellers include garage door opener accessories, glues and adhesives, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, riding mowers, and electric saws.

But the biggest winner was online shopping, increasing 27% in unit sales, and 19% in dollar sales, according to the Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research company.