Germany: still the nation of DIYers

The DIY retail sector in Europe is in a position to record modest growth for 2008, whereas the same sector in Germany has to admit to a slight fall. Nevertheless, sales in Germany come to an unprecedented € 38 bn. The other two large European markets, the United Kingdom and France, show perceptibly bigger falls, which extends Germany’s existing lead still further. These three nations together account for three-quarters of the overall volume of the European market between them. However, with double-digit rates of growth the markets of central and eastern Europe are continuing to catch up. Download: Market volume in 12 countries (pdf) Although Germany claims by far the greatest market volume, that is not sufficient for top spot in the “Average spend per household” category. Here the Belgians with their average of € 995 are well ahead of the Germans’ mean figure of € 957. The British rank third with a spend of around € 888 on DIY products. Download: average spend per household (pdf) Europeans’ buying intentions are falling by four percentage points. Only 23 per cent are now planning any spending on DIY products for this current year. People’s intentions to consume are considerably higher in this country (Germany), where more than one in four (29 per cent) intends to go shopping in a DIY store this year. This amounts to a drop of just two per cent. For 2009 the most robust DIY ambitions of over 30 per cent each are being displayed by the Belgians, followed by the British, the French and the Russians. Download: Intention to invest in DIY and garden equipment, house alterations and renovations (pdf) Download: Internet buying intentions (pdf) More than two in three Europeans and Germans (69 per cent) indicate that the price is the deciding factor for them when buying DIY products. As a result this product category, along with “travel and leisure” and “consumer electronics”, is one of the first to be mentioned when it comes to the price factor.