The DIY market in Italy

The term do-it-yourself refers to nonprofessional manual activities, the repair, creation, improvement, and maintenance of small items in the home. This study focuses on the DIY market and therefore excludes the BtoB activity of retailers and DIY stores

In 2019, global DIY and home improvement market sales reached 618 billion euros, an increase of 4.22 percent from the previous year (593 billion euros).

North America and Europe together account for about 86.6 percent of this market, although their combined population accounts for only 16 percent of the world's population.

Italy, which boasts sales equal to 7 percent of Europe's. National per capita spending is around 250 euros, slightly below the European average (270 euros) but significantly higher than the world average of 76 euros.

In 2019, the market continued to grow steadily, but showed a softening compared to the trend of the previous two years. The positive contribution to the sector's performance can be attributed to the brisk recovery in demand for home and garden tools and utensils, driven by the practice of "do-it-yourself," the growing interest in home care and beautification, and the spread of "green" trends, which offset the reduction in purchases of home maintenance products.

An important contribution to the recovery in demand came from the development of the online channel, which intercepted new customer segments through a wide range of products at affordable prices, and from the renewal of specialized distribution, through the upgrading of outlets and the offering of services, from spaces dedicated to decorations to home personalization services.

Covid has had a very positive impact on this market: after the months of March and April,characterized by uncertainty, the market exploded in May, and in the following months, orders to suppliers suddenly grew and continued. Sales grew by 20 percent in some sectors, such as home and garden maintenance.

It is estimated that the DIY sector will continue to grow at a rate of just under 1 percent, both in value and volume. In terms of spending aggregates, in the year 2018, demand for household tools and utensils confirmed a positive dynamic (around 2 percent in value and slightly less in volume), following the significant progress recorded in 2017 of more than 8 percent, according to revised ISTAT Accounting data.

The main players at the international level are Depot (USA), Lowe's (USA), ADEO (France), Kingfisher (UK), Bunnings Building (Australia), Menards (USA), OBI (Germany), Bauhaus (Germany), Sodimac (Chile), Ace Hardware (USA).

In Italy, however, Bricocenter, Bricofer, Brico Io, Bricoman, Leroy Merlin, Obi, and Ottimax stand out.