UK DIY & Gardening Sector Report | Industry Analysis

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UK DIY & Gardening Sector Report summary

March 2021

Period covered: Reporting period: 31 January – 27 February 2021

Note: Reporting periods are either one or two months behind the current month as standard reporting practice. Certain figures are not shown. Take out a free 30 day subscription trial to access this data or subscribe.

DIY & Gardening sales growth rose by 00.00% in February, year-on-year – bouncing back from the 00.00% rise a month ago.
Although sales growth remained below the three-month average of 00.00%, on a six-month rolling basis (00.00%) it outperformed all other categories, including Food.
Demand continued to be supported by ongoing lockdown restrictions, with more time being spent at home leading to consumers taking on home improvement tasks to keep them busy. Anecdotally retailers have seen a consistent boost from the sale of DIY products throughout the pandemic.
Elsewhere, garden furniture was said to have been popular towards the end of the month, following the announcement (on 22 February) that social gatherings would be allowed in home gardens from 29 March, with the reintroduction of the ‘rule of six’.
Google Trends data suggests that searches for ‘garden furniture’ accelerated by 85% in the final week of February compared with a year ago.
Data from the ONS showed that 47% of household goods retailers reported an increase in their turnover compared to what is normally expected for this time of year (period covered: 22 February to 7 March 2021). This compares with just 27% for the retail sector as a whole.
The pandemic has dramatically altered the growth and composition of online sales over the last 12 months.
The shift towards online for non-food categories has been significant. Household Goods has experienced one of the largest shifts towards online, with the proportion of online sales rising to 41% in February from 15% in the previous year. This category now accounts for 10% of total online spending, up four percentage points from the previous year.
A new wave of online shoppers have experienced new digital customer journeys – and over the past 12 months, many of these online habits have become entrenched.
This is supported by Kingfisher who have seen their online sales consistently grow at an exceptional pace throughout the pandemic. Group online penetration is now at 18%, up from 8% in the prior year (full year to 31 July), with 10 million new online customers acquired.