Europeans develop a greater interest in home improvement

Last year European consumers performed more home improvement jobs than in 2014. However, the second half of 2015 was disappointing from the DIY sector's viewpoint. The share of households that conducted a home improvement job in this period decreased compared with the same period in 2014. The share of home improvement jobs that were done by professionals increased throughout the year as a whole. This information is taken from the latest European home improvement study conducted by the USP Marketing Consultancy.

The barometer shows that the peak in home improvement last year was in the first half of the year. The season started early, in March, and took off in the following months, showing a significant increase. Unfortunately, this reflected on the results later that year. Especially in August and September, fewer home improvement jobs were carried out compared with the previous year. This was in contrast to the relatively high consumer confidence in that period. Still, last year consumer spending on home improvement increased in most of the countries surveyed due to a higher average spend per job.

The higher average spend per job is mainly caused by the increase in do-it-for-me jobs. In other words, professionals were involved more often in a home improvement job, which made the average price per job higher. In 2015, more than a third (34 per cent) of home improvement jobs were carried out by a professional, while in 2014 this was 32 per cent. A possible explanation for this is that consumers are becoming less skilled at DIY jobs.