"Even more a country of DIY enthusiasts"

"A massive jump," was the comment made by market researcher Klaus Peter Teipel regarding last year's trend in the DIY market when he presented the latest figures at the conference of the German DIY Retail Association (BHB) at the beginning of December. Of course, like virtually everything else in the crazy year of 2020, the conference took place exclusively as a large online event.
Home improvement stores in Germany, Europe's biggest DIY market, racked up sales amounting to around EUR 26.1 bn in 2020, equivalent to an increase of 13.7 per cent over the previous year, according to the market researcher's figures. The German DIY market as a whole (thus not only the market volume of the stores) increased by just 3.3 per cent, however, achieving a volume of EUR 255.93 bn.
According to Teipel, there were two big winners in 2020: the DIY stores and online retailing. This is because e-commerce sales in the core DIY ranges grew by 26.3 per cent to a volume of EUR 4.967 bn.
These are sales that remained largely, but not entirely, in the DIY sector. To be more precise, the market share of home improvement stores in e-commerce relating to DIY products was 23.8 per cent. Almost exactly half (50.7 per cent) of this market, however, is the preserve of the pure players. Nevertheless, it is also evident that the DIY stores are gaining ground; their online business has increased by 40 per cent, while purely online retailers have grown by 30 per cent.
Teipel generally confirmed the assessments of many commentators describing the trends in the year of Covid. Homing, home improvement and re-cocooning were the key trends driving demand and would continue to do so. This was good for the DIY stores: "Now more than ever, Germany is a country of DIY enthusiasts."

For 2021, the market researcher expects a decline compared with the record year of 2020. In specific terms, he predicts that home improvement store sales could fall by 4.1 per cent, but from the high level already achieved. In a multiple-year comparison, the sector continues to grow.
At any rate, it was clear from Teipel's discussion with moderator and BHB managing director Peter Wüst that consumers will continue to focus on their homes. Teipel also believed that "there was every possibility that…