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Global home improvement is a USD 270 bn strong market, second only to the home furnishings category within the home and garden retail universe, whilst global gardening sales stand at over USD 90 bn. Together, with a combined total of nearly USD 360 bn in sales in 2015, these two categories dominate overall world home and garden sales, and are themselves dominated by Western Europe and the US.Western Europe is the largest gardening market in the world, commanding 40 per cent of world sales (a similar proportion is held by the US) and also accounts for over a quarter of total home improvement sales, driving global sales in both categories. Home Improvement sales in 2015 versus the previous year, saw flat movement after recording barely their value growth of 0.8 per cent, a similar picture for Gardening, with just under one per cent growth regionally in the same period - although this is itself at least a rustle of positivity after years of declines.
There are changes afoot in the macro-economic and socio-demographic sphere in Western Europe, which are shaping the face of the traditional home improvement and gardening consumer in this region. How does the rise of 'generation rent' or the size of the average home in the industry's largest markets impact sales? And what is happening to the retail space to adapt to the demands of the new 'millennials'? Countries within Western Europe are currently facing profound changes to key consumer factors, which influence home improvement and gardening sales, not only in terms of the consumer's ability and need to buy or store products but also how they make their purchases. The individual countries of the Western European region have largely been marked by the aftermath of the 2008-09 banking crisis and various austerity measures which have seen significant growth in youth unemployment as well as a polarization in disposable income between the top and bottom ends - squeezing the so-called middle classes who are the main consumers of home improvement and gardening products. 
By the same token, countries such as the UK have seen a shift in important indicators such as home ownership, with soaring property prices resulting in a marked decrease in the proportion of home owners and an attendant increase in the proportion of those renting. The result of this is not only a decrease in the proportion of disposable income a vast strata of consumers can spend on items other than immediate living costs (the average cost of renting a…