The DIY Market: The Self Made Phenomenon

In recent years we have seen the growth of the Do-It-Yourself market. Bill Tancer in his upcoming book: “Click: What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why It Matters” reports that “How To” queries represent nearly 3% of all US search queries, making it the most commonly searched question. In the last few years the on-line market has adjusted to the demand of DIY knowledge. There are numerous websites, blogs and on-line communities that are dedicated to sharing DIY yourself tips and projects.

Analysts for allbusiness.com said “Sales of DIY products in the US enjoyed substantial growth over the period 1999-2004. This happened despite the 11 September 2001 attacks and an economic recession, and was thanks in large part to a surprisingly strong housing market. US consumers proved willing to invest in their homes even as they cut back spending on other goods and services. Part of this stemmed from a cocooning effect: US consumers spent less on travel and more on activities that allowed them to stay at home following the 11 September 2001 attacks. Investment in home improvement was also encouraged by consistently low interest rates that allowed many US consumers to refinance their homes. Many US consumers are reaching retirement age and DIY projects that add value to their house are increasingly seen as a good investment.” The “cocooning effect” has had a great impact on the DIY market and analysts don’t see the trend going away anytime soon.

The trend in DIY has become a nationwide phenomenon so much that department stores and wholesalers have started changing the layouts of their stores to better assist DIY shoppers. Decades ago it was widely accepted that men took care of home improvement projects but there has been a major shift in that ideology. HGTVpro.com researchers discussed how retailers have adjusted to the shift in consumers “To appeal to women who are increasingly taking home improvement into their own hands, major retailers such as Lowe's and Home Depot are offering educational workshops, adapting product lines, and making store layouts more female-friendly. Mintel research reports that close to 60 percent of women surveyed had undertaken a DIY project in the last year... We saw retailers make many outreach efforts last year," said Justin De Santis, analyst with Mintel. ‘For example, suppliers introduced new lines of traditionally male-oriented products such as hand tools with ergonomic features, design, and packaging that specifically targeted the female DIYer. There is a major opportunity to provide more targeted products for this group.’” With 60% of women undertaking a DIY project in the last year it seems safe to say that this phenomenon has no intention of going anywhere anytime soon.