RETAILING REPORT
WILL YOUR DIY SHOPPER BECOME TOTALLY DIGITAL?
Crawford Davidson, managing director, Go Inspire Group, discusses his organisation’s latest market research into DIY buying trends, how they are affecting the industry and what changes retailers can make to offset the impact.
T Total Population Net trend to
Mobile Phone Products Computers & Electronics Electrical Products
Sports Equipment/Clothing Toys
White Goods Fashion
Furniture/Furnishings Books & Magazines Jewellery & Watches Cosmetics DIY
Stationary
Childrens Clothes Shoes
Gardening Alcohol
Household Products
Personal Hygiene Products Non-perishable Food Fresh Food
online purchasing 9%
9% 8% 6% 6% 6% 4% 3% 2% 1% 1% 0% 0% 0%
-1% -2% -6% -6% -7% -9%
-12% 10 DIY WEEK 08 NOVEMBER 2019
Sports Equipment/Clothing Mobile Phone Products Fashion DIY
Toys
Electrical Products Stationary
Books & Magazines Furniture/Furnishings Shoes
Computers & Electronics Jewellery & Watches White Goods
Childrens Clothes Cosmetics Alcohol
Gardening
Household Products Non-perishable Food Fresh Food
Personal Hygiene Products
he UK DIY and gardening market is undergoing considerab le change; the physical store presence of big
outlets like Homebase and B&Q is shrinking while discounters such as B&M, Wilkinson and Poundland continue to steal market share.* In addition, online channels have become increasingly important, with Screwfix now accounting for
WILL YOU BE BUYING MORE OF THESE PRODUCTS ONLINE IN FIVE YEARS TIME (OR LESS, OR NO CHANGE)?
Generation Z (18-24) Net trend to
online purchasing 11%
10% 7% 7% 7% 7% 6% 6% 5% 4% 4% 4% 3% 3% 2% 0%
-1% -2% -3% -4% -7%
almost one third of B&Q’s total revenue.** Combine this with the fact that in 2018, 43 per cent of potential DIY or home improvement customers researched their products online before making a purchase.*** However, before making drastic decisions about future retail strategy, it is invaluable for retailers to gain a more
accurate Latest research
This was the rationale behind the latest independent research commissioned by Go Inspire Group, looking into the balance of online vs offline consumer behaviour with a five-year outlook. Aiming to test whether this drift to online purchasing is really as unrelenting as we think, Go Inspire Group commissioned independent research that turned towards a diverse panel of shoppers and asked whether they would be buying more or less online of a whole range of products in five years from now. Apart from investigating customers’ shopping preferences across product categories, Go Inspire Group was equally interested to find out if any significant differences would
arise age brackets, between different especially between
generation Z (the 18 to 24 olds that have never experienced a non-digital world) and those generations that have lived through the introduction and evolution of online shopping. The results demonstrate that the sweep towards digital will not affect every product category in the same way and the balance between future online and offline shopping is specific to each range. For DIY products in particular, the general population is expected to continue shopping in five years from now in
and fact-based
picture of how DIY purchasing is expected to develop.
much the same way they are doing at the moment. However, generation Z indicates
a pronounced tendency towards going online for their DIY items.
Marketing challenges This represents a specific challenge for DIY marketers: how to best serve
those customers that will
keep coming in-store and how to make sure that your offering also captures the most future-facing of your customers. The right balance between online and offline attraction will be key. This means evaluating how to keep traditional core customers interested through the channels they are used to. In this instance creative and dynamic printed mail that is personalised and tailored to specific consumer profiles should not be omitted from the marketing plan.
On the other hand, to make sure you attract your Generation Z customer, a smart digital strategy embracing social media and digital devices is crucial. In fact, previous research exercises have demonstrated the efficacy of combining physical and digital marketing channels, compared to employing each channel on its own. There are many (under-used) tools available to track customer touch- points and thereby build a 360 degree profile reflecting individual preferences. Whatever
your approach to
keeping up with your customer’s offline/online shopping profile, you cannot go wrong if your starting point is factual research on future shopping behaviour rather than general predictions that only touch the surface and do not take into consideration the diversity between product categories nor differentiate between customer segments.
References:
* Retail Economics, UK DIY & Gardening Sector Report, September 2019 ** Retail Economics, UK DIY & Gardening Sector Report, September 2019 *** 365Retail, A digital forecast for the homeware and home sector, 01 August 2018
improvement
www.diyweek.net
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