1.1 Definition and presentation

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.

1.2 World market

According to the Global Home Improvements Report ****, theglobal DIY market, also known as DIY in Anglo-Saxon languages, was estimated at ***.* billion euros in **** and is growing, slowly but steadily, with a CAGR of *.* percent between **** and ****. In Western countries, there has been a growing interest in DIY in recent years, reinforced ...

1.3 Italian market

According to analyses conducted by Edra, Ghin and Fedyma, the DIY market in Italy will be worth more than ** billion euros in ****. The following graph shows the evolution of the turnover of companies registered under code **.**, which corresponds to the retail sale of hardware, paint and glass in specialty stores. Thus, ...

1.4 Impact of Covid

With the pandemic, the Italian people have spent much more time in their homes. The care for the home environment and the desire to make it more cozy and livable has led Italians to invest more money and time in fixing up their homes with DIY jobs, painting, carpentry, and gardening. ...

2.1 Clientele and spending

Four out of ** Italians claim to be practicing DIY activities, in particular, during the pandemic period, according to research by Task Rabbit, ** percent got into DIY, ** percent tried their hand at furniture assembly for the first time, ** percent at plumbing repairs, ** percent at electrical repairs, and ** percent at wall painting.

In ...

2.2 Habits and reasons for DIY

DIY is chosen by Italians because it contributes to their personal well-being. Do-it-yourself is a clear example of a beneficial and healing activity to practice in one's free time, as it contributes positively to the state of physical and mental health,it also relaxes involves the use of the hands, thus ...

2.3 New DIY trends

Two new trends are emerging in the world of do-it-yourself, the first being the ever-present search for sustainable products, and the second being the possibility of turning one's passion into a small business, through platforms that connect enthusiasts in the field.

3.1 Small and large distributor market

The main sales channels for do-it-yourself, in Italy, are specialty stores, i.e., plumbing, construction, hardware, carpentry, garden centers, Grandi Distributori Specializzati (***), i.e., large food hypermarkets.

According to data from the NON FOOD Observatory **** dI GS* Italy, in the year ****, specialty stores remain the main sales channelfor the DIY sector, ...

3.2 Large specialized distributors

Although small retailers, such as hardware stores, are a reality in Italy, an important part of the sector, especially in terms of turnover, is that of the chains of specialized product distributors (***) in DIY and do-it-yourself, construction, gardening, decorating and bathroom furniture.

The number of GDS, large specialty retailers, is increasing ...

3.3 Retailers

As mentioned above, the do-it-yourself market is difficult to quantify, however, it is possible to use ATECO code **.** to see the trends in theretail trade of hardware, paint, flat glass, and building materials in specialized establishments .

The volume of production is slowly but steadily growing, with the only exceptions between **** and ...

4.1 Products offered

The DIY market encompasses a wide variety of products, mainly because their use does not always correspond strictly to DIY. Gardening products, for example, do not strictly fall under the DIY umbrella, but are sold by most DIY stores. However, products in the DIY market can still be categorized as ...

4.2 Prices

Prices in the DIY industry in Italy vary greatly from one category or product range to another, as well as depending on the store and product brand.

For example, in the tool category of BricoCenter, we can find the following prices:

Pneumatic nailer: about ** euros. Gas drill: about *** euros. Toolbox ** pieces: ...

4.3 Supply trend

Digitizing the offering

As mentioned above, DIY stores have realized the importance of digitizing their offerings. This is reflected not only in the development of the range of products offered on the Internet, but also in the diversification of digital services offered.

Combining personalization and digitization of its offer, Brico Io ...

5.1 Regulations

Rules of good neighborliness

There are no real eisit rules to be able to practice the hobby of DIY. If, however, practiced at home, people must follow the rules of their apartment building and the regulations of the neighborhood laws. They are guidelines in order to be able to maintain good ...