Is the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) DIY sector in decline?

The United Kingdom’s DIY market size is difficult to measure up due to the sheer breadth of their ranges. However in the main markets it is estimated to account for around £39 billion, including VAT in 2010 (Mintel, 2011). The market itself consists of four main key players. B&Q is currently the dominant retailer in this market, with over 300 stores, and a market share of more than 40% (Mintel, 2011) B&Q is currently ranked as number one DIY retailer (Kingfisher, 2011). Homebase, are another DIY store ranked in second place (Mintel, 2011) with a share of around 16%. It is clear that from this analysis alone how much of a competitive edge this market is, with the gap from one retailer share to another. The other two main competitors are Wickes in third place with a 10% market share and then you have Focus with a market share of 5%.

Research problem:

There has been much speculation that the ‘Glory days of DIY are over’ and the DIY market in the UK is on a decline. In this report I am aiming to find out what problems the DIY market is facing and causing it to decline by focusing on two aspects. First I will be looking at consumer spending and what people general ideas about DIY are. Secondly I will also be looking at financial information using the four main retailers looking into their sales figures and profits in order to help me determine how companies are performing overall, and to see if in fact they are in decline.

There are many issues facing the DIY sector and some of which cannot be avoided. Some of the main issues are things like the economy that the UK is currently in. This has had a direct affect onto the market as people are have now got less money to spend on things that are unnecessary. Also the housing market is in decline. However the most severe issue is that fact that more and more people are falling out of interest with the need to carry out DIY tasks (Mintel, 2011).

The purpose of this research is to try and find the actual cause for this decline in DIY sales, whether it be from customers spending less, or people not liking wanting to carry out DIY tasks.

Research question:

The main question issues that i will be addressing in this research are:

1. Have people in the UK fallen out of love with DIY projects?

2. Do people plan on carrying out any DIY projects this year?

3. Which of the DIY retailers do people shop in?

4. What do people look for when picking a DIY retailer?

5. What is the main reason that they think the DIY sector may be in decline?

Research objectives:

My research objectives here are to find out whether UK’s DIY sector’s future is as strong as it has been previously; there are many speculations to suggest that it is currently in decline however sales figure from some retailers may suggest otherwise.

Some of my other objectives are:

To better understand the UK’s DIY sector Examine what people general view is about DIY Examine potential strategies that DIY retailers have implemented or can implement to attract

customers Assess the financial statuses of some of the bigger names in the business such as B&Q,

Homebase, Wickes and Focus

Importance of study:

I believe this study is important as there is little research that has been made into this area previously. This study is also important because it will help retailers in the DIY sector have an insight into people opinions about DIY and what their general views are. I am hoping that the study will also provide the person reading a better understand of future innovations to what they can do differently or change in order to attract more customers. It will also help broadcast a vivid idea on the DIY market and whether its future seems brighter in years to come, or if it is a market that has reached maturity and is now in decline.

Theoretical framework:

As there is little or no framework around this topic I have decided to use a report about Credit card use: disposable income and employment status, which was written by Joshua Fogel and Mayer Schneider. Although this study was made in the United States of America, it will help me better understand about people spending habits as it talks a lot about compulsive buying and the psychological effects of spending money.

The other type or framework that I will use is Mintel. More specifically their DIY Retailing – UK- February 2011 report. This report will be very helpful to me as it has a lot of information regarding the current climate of the DIY market. It will also help me better understand the types of shoppers that go to DIY stores and also provide me with some insights as to how much people spend on average on DIY yearly.

Research methods:

In order to help me with this research I will also be using a mixture of both quantitative and qualitative data. I will gather my information by creating a questionnaire that will help me in gathering the required information for a sample of around 20 or more people. I will then use this data and represent it using a series of bar graph or pie charts in order to help me draw up relationships between two variables. By

doing so I am hoping it will help me better understand the DIY market and also the thoughts of consumers when it comes to DIY.

I will also be doing general reading around the subject area in order to gather some secondary data and research to help me along with the topic. Whereas the questionnaire research will be more firsthand primary data.

Data collection techniques:

I will collect data by creating a questionnaire, otherwise known as a survey strategy. Using this type of data collection technique is very popular as it allows people to collate large amounts of standardised data making it easier for a person to make a comparison between topics. (Saunders 4th ed, p. 138). Using this type of data collection technique will also make it easier for me to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. It will also be convenient for people who will have to fill out the questionnaire as it will be one simple and easy questionnaire to fill out instead of a long and time consuming interview.

Another reason why this technique will be beneficiary is because it is least cost effective and the quickest to implement.

This survey will be administered within to friends and family in order to get a cross range of mixed opinions. I will also be conducting this questionnaire at university in order to get a better understand of a cross range of ages opinions and not only cater it to a biased age group.

Data analysis techniques:

I will be making use of programs such as Excel to carry out my data analysis. This program will help me in creating a more visual image of the data I have collated. This will help me in reaching conclusions about certain findings and also help me in creating a relation between two variables. This program will also help me in better presenting, exploring and describing my findings, in order to help me reach conclusions about the DIY market in the UK.

Contribution to the study:

I am conducting this study as it is something that is personal to me, I currently work for the DIY sector and it is of great interest to me to try and examine its future. By completing this study I would hope to have contributed towards:

1. Understanding more about the DIY retail sector and what its future holds2. Advise parties on what they can do to improve the DIY sector in attracting customers back to

loving DIY3. Providing people with a written research about this area as there are not many reports on this

matter

Project plan:

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11

Proposal

Research problem

Background information

Aims for proposal

Questionnaire

Collating data

Data analysis

Summary

Submissions

Literature review:

Credit card use: disposable income and employment status

Summary:

This report is all about a survey which was conducted amongst 301 college students in the United States of America detailing their credit case use in relation to their disposable income and their employment status. The report also goes over other issues concerning consumer spending habits and also provides detailed findings in order to answer the purpose of the report. The report was created in order to highlight the potential risks people take on when using services such as credit cards.

Main critique

I thought that abstract of the report was very well laid out and written, I instantly without reading the full report managed to find out what is was about, that sample size that they are using as well as the type of people they are targeting. The abstract also drew me further into the report in the way it was written as it provided a little insight into what was discovered, which made me want to read more to find out the causes of these problems.

The introduction in the report was written very well the author managed to use some key words in his report and managed to explain them really well using lots of references. I really liked the way he used statistics such as, ‘a survey in 2008 on college students in the US found that students have an average of 4.6 credit cards, with 50% having four or more cards’ (Sallie Mae, 2009). The use of these facts and figures also helped me in reaching my own conclusion and helping me better understand the issue and aim of this research.

The writer has clearly used adequate overview of literature due to the many sources he has used inside the text. The use of terminology has also been defined inside texts with references which I found very useful as I did not understand some of the things he was trying to explain. It was also clear that a lot of research had gone into the overview of literature as he has not only source information from one place but various places.

I thought that the author’s sample size was adequate for the purpose of his study, only because it was aimed towards college students. However if it was a research about the general public of America, I would of thought that sample size would not have been very reflective of the whole population.

It was also very clear as to how the author obtained his information, by explaining this to the reader, telling them where and when and who took this survey. I thought the way he spoke about how long the survey took and at what places it took place was also very nice in order to give an insight to the reader as to what types of environments these surveys where filled out. I think this is important because people tend to behave to their surroundings, for example if they are rushed then they may answer in a rush to the survey therefore not providing accurate information whereas if the person was in more serious and calmed space with more time they may be able to provide more accurate information.

There was also some reference as to what tools the author used in order to analyse the data. The two programs used where ANOVA and SPSS version 17. I like the way in which he stated what each program was used for and for what type of data they were used for.

At first it was not clear what data sets the author was using as you had to read all of the findings until you reach the graph and the more visual data after. I thought that this section could have been improved by having the visual set of data first for the reader to get a quick glance at the findings before going into the details of the findings. However looking at the tables it was very evident that the more disposable income a person had the more credit debts they incurred regardless of their employment status. This information was easier for me to read of the table than actually reading the written text.

I also liked the fact that there was no unsupported statements in the report, everything was backed up with a fact and reference. This showed that the author has done their homework and research well around this topic ensuring that his research is both strong and meaningful. However one thing which I did not like was the fact that there was no use of quotations from texts or articles to support some of his findings or theories, instead he has solely relied on hard facts and definitions alone.

I thought that the research was consistent and answered the relevant problem areas mentioned in the abstract at the beginning. I also thought it fulfilled its role in finding out the use of credit cards with relations to disposable income and employment status. I thought it was also consistent with the methodology and the data collection techniques used. I thought that the study also showed something new and innovative as people can now view this research and better understand the way in which college students spend their money. It also provides people with an insight as to what students generally earn and what they use to shop on certain salaries.

I thought that the conclusion was very strong, only around a hundred or so words long however if summed up the report very well, and providing the reader with two suggestions about credit cards. It was very to the point, and provided the reader with perfect summary of the report. Ensuring that no new information is brought out and that the conclusion was simply reached from everything that was discussed within the report.

I thought that the paper was laid out very well, it was very easy on the eye, free flowing and easy to follow. Subheadings and headings could be easily identified, each separated by paragraphing. There was also some use of bold writing to emphasis the beginning of either a new heading or subheading.

Conclusion:

Overall I thought that this piece of research was very interesting, not only with the information I have found out but also as to how much of a relevance it could play in my life, knowing what students like me think and spend. It has also fulfilled its purpose in making me think twice about credit card borrowing and the need for impulsive buying. I also now know the importance of learning about finance and budgeting in order to avoid having to borrow money from credit cards. One of the things which I most loved about the report was the way in which the author laid out the abstract, as this was also very to the point and easy to read.