The impact of containment on DIY

DIY is the new passion of the French during confinement. This sector has, in fact, experienced a growth of 13% with a turnover of 34 billion euros in 2020. According to reports from Inoha and the FMB, it recorded an “extraordinary” year with a doubling of online sales and the arrival of new DIY enthusiasts.

Very high demand

Unsurprisingly, confinement has made the French more sensitive to their homes and their equipment. It gave them time to do DIY jobs they could never get done, and it also made them more creative and thorough.

The installation, development, renovation and maintenance projects planned by the French during this period have an impact on sales of DIY tools. These increased by 28%, while sales of paint and glue increased by 22%. Sales of decorative products and accessories, too, have jumped 16% in just one year, and stores are starting to organize themselves to meet the high demand.

As Stéphane Petrelle, the manager at Bricorama in the Hauts-de-Seine, explains, the stores experienced resupply problems during the first lockdown, and now they are suffering from a lack of raw materials.

A spectacular increase in online sales

According to surveys, the most spectacular increase is in online sales. These increased by 111% for large retail outlets in 2020. In fact, this market has benefited from a particularly favourable situation with containment, since consumers cannot leave their homes and also since online purchases save time and money.

New, younger handymen

In addition, it was also found that DIY was of particular interest to young people during confinement. According to the announcements of Juliette Lauzac, the FMB / Inoha researcher: “The market has won over new handymen who have discovered themselves during confinements… These new consumers are young, in the 18 age group. -30 years ".

And the president of the FMB, Mathieu Pivain, added that these new handymen "are more oriented towards the circular economy and responsible, towards the second hand so as not to overconsume, they turn more to rental and repair rather than to buy ".

Regardless, it must be admitted that the confinement favoured small interior work and not large construction sites, since it has been proven that the activities of craftsmen fell by 9% in 2020.