Analysis: How home and DIY retailers can nail lockdown challenges

From baking banana bread to making TikToks, the UK is awash with new hobbies to pass the time in lockdown – and with more time spent staring at four walls, it comes as little surprise that many people are taking on home improvement projects.

Despite being classified as ‘essential’ by the UK government, the majority of home and DIY retailers have kept their bricks-and-mortar doors closed, forcing budding DIYers to turn online.

Last week, however, B&Q initially reopened two of its stores on a trial basis with social distancing measures in place, followed by 12 more over the weekend. The retailer has now reopened 258 stores – over three-quarters of its total UK store estate – and it seems remiss for other retailers that can, not to follow suit and cash in on this trend.

Home improvement boom

“Spring is always a popular time for home improvements and getting gardens in order,” says Kantar strategic insights director Joanna Parman.

“This year, as we are forced to spend more time indoors, people are looking for ways to keep the boredom at bay and also to make their homes places that they and their families can enjoy.

“With the government advising people against moving home during the current lockdown, it’s likely that a number of consumers are taking the opportunity to renovate their existing properties – a case of can’t move, improve.”

Kantar research reveals that 12.5 million households are planning on undertaking a DIY project in the coming weeks in their homes or gardens.

Sixty per cent of these people plan to do some painting inside their homes, 40% are planning to get the garden ready for summer and 27% of people will be painting sheds or fences.

The April heatwave further contributed to the desire to spruce up the garden. Data from LovetheSales shows that online searches for lawn mowers increased 401% month on month, barbeques were up 174% and searches for garden chairs and tables increased 400%.

Small improvements over big-ticket

The home and DIY sector has undoubtedly seen a surge in demand, as consumers have settled into their lockdown lifestyle and begun to take advantage of what they can change about their surroundings.

“We hit lockdown in the middle of March and those first two weeks were a complete shock to the sector as everyone focused on buying food and other basics,” says Peel Hunt retail analyst John Stevenson.

“All the retailers felt the effects, whether it was on footfall when high streets were still open, or website traffic when stores were closed.

“Since then, things seem to have settled down and people are turning their attentions to those jobs they’d been putting off – whether it’s home improvements, decorating or updating furnishings.

“If you’ve got a job, you’re being paid and you’re sat at home, so people are bound to focus on their houses more.”

“Consumers like to visit stores, view, touch and feel the products that they’re going to buy. Albeit there has been a demand for online as it was the only option, these behaviours won’t necessarily stick in the future”

Simon Quirk, Kantar

Stevenson also predicts that this trend could continue even after lockdown is lifted in the absence of international travel, or even UK travel opportunities.

However, without the ability to call on professionals, it seems it is small home updates that are taking priority.

Kantar’s Simon Quirk believes this could be related to the fact that fashion has taken a backseat during the pandemic.

“Because consumers can no longer convey their personalities through the clothes they wear with a wider audience while they’re out and about, they’ve turned to conveying this through their homes and home furnishings,” he says.

“This is especially relevant as we’re all on Zoom and other video conferencing services wanting to show off things like artwork on our walls to those we talk to.

“There is an opportunity for retailers here, but with consumer confidence dropping rapidly, particularly in regard to longer-term financial stability, we are likely to see that big-ticket items will be deferred in favour of smaller items and little adjustments.”

Online inspiration

Home and DIY retailers should also consider their online capabilities and online presence in order to stay front of mind for shoppers, both during the lockdown and beyond.

For the home and DIY sector, online is an “immature channel” says Quirk, where many were caught off-guard by the sudden inundation of online orders.

On social media, for example, consumers complained about online queues to get into the B&Q website, similar to that of the grocers.

With some stores now reopened, this may be less of a concern for B&Q, but many other retailers are still having to react to the change in the “mission purchase”.

Stevenson explains that home and DIY retailers are used to customers using their online platforms for inspiration and coming to store with a few specific product ideas in mind.

As this is no longer possible, retailers need to ensure that the same advice and service that a customer would ordinarily find in store, they can now find online.

Even in B&Q’s reopened stores, the retailer is only offering products “that you can shop and takeaway in store on the day”.

Services such as kitchen and bathroom design and paint mixing are not available for the time being, so customers will look deeper online for guidance.

Home and DIY retailers need to make better use of their online and social media channels to both inspire and help consumers from their homes – using Pinterest boards, creating YouTube how-to videos, and showcasing products on Instagram posts.

Retailers that have taken well to this challenge are Ikea and Dunelm, who have quickly pivoted their online capabilities and invested in the technology to enhance their offerings.

Ikea has acquired of AR start-up Geomagical Labs to supercharge its visualisation tools. The new asset allows users to scan a room using a smartphone, render that into a panoramic 3D picture, remove all the furniture currently in it and then play around with the room by adding new Ikea items to scale. 

Without the option to view Ikea’s showrooms, the new app function will act as the next best thing to keep customers shopping from home. 

Tiles is another category that is rarely bought online, but Topps Tiles has implemented a similar visualisation tool online to help customers make purchase decisions.

Dunelm has also benefited from investment in its website shortly before the pandemic hit and is now offering almost its entire range, so is well placed to capitalise on the demand for smaller home improvements.

The homewares retailer said: “After a phased restart of our online business, we are now fully operational, with the exception of some two-man delivery products, which we anticipate will begin next week once we finalise a safe and workable delivery solution.

“Since reopening, we have been able to satisfy a high level of online customer demand, with recent online order levels significantly higher than those seen prior to the onset of coronavirus.”

Rewards and risks 

According to Quirk, however, the demand for online home and DIY will only last as long as lockdown does, and retailers that win will be those that can complement their online offerings with a physical store space.

Already, the demand for bricks-and-mortar DIY stores is evident – Kantar data shows a “distinct uptick” in footfall over the first weekend of only 14 B&Q stores reopening.

“Consumers like to visit stores, view, touch and feel the products that they’re going to buy. Albeit there has been a demand for online as it was the only option, these behaviours won’t necessarily stick in the future,” predicts Quirk.

In the meantime, he also thinks that supermarkets and bargain stores will be able to capitalise on consumers desire to buy homewares they have seen in person, as shoppers will pick up small items with their weekly food shop.

“All open stores have a designated queuing area outside, and these have markers every two metres to help remind everyone to respect each other’s personal space”

B&Q statement

Stevenson and Quirk agree it is highly likely other “essential” retailers will follow B&Q’s lead as soon as they safely can, to avoid missing out on spend. Homebase’s decision to trial reopening 20 of its stores this week was likely related. 

There is clearly consumer demand for home and DIY products, making B&Q and Homebase’s return to bricks-and-mortar trading unsurprising, but while the government may have classed them as essential retailers, it is customers’ opinions that really matter.

Frustrated shoppers took to Twitter to express their dismay at the hours-long queues at reopened B&Q stores over the weekend, as people ignored ‘stay at home’ guidance. Some consumers called the queues “absolute carnage”.

While B&Q chief executive Graham Bell has urged shoppers to only visit the store to purchase essentials, the only limit on what customers can buy is that they must be able to take it away on the day, leaving a lot of leeway for non-essential purchases. 

While other essential retailers such as Boots have reportedly stopped customers from buying non-essential items such as make-up and hair dye or have limited the time shoppers can spend in-store, it seems that home and DIY retailers have not put similar restrictions in place.

On social media, pictures have surfaced of customers carrying hot tubs and plants – arguably not the sort of purchases it is necessary to leave home for.

To combat the ire of public opinion, retailers need to put their essential services at the forefront of reopened stores, to avoid looking like they are providing a day out for the lockdown-weary.

With customers flocking back to stores, social distancing and safety restrictions need to also be clearly enforced and adhered to.

In a statement, B&Q said: “Similar to shopping at other essential retailers, such as supermarkets, B&Q is strictly limiting the number of customers in-store at any one time. All open stores have a designated queuing area outside, and these have markers every two metres to help remind everyone to respect each other’s personal space. 

“To further support social distancing, stores have two-metre floor markers throughout as well as at points of sale, and Perspex screens have been installed at the checkouts.”

B&Q began its reopening process with its largest stores to test its social distancing capabilities, has since successfully reopened 215 of its 296-strong estate, and plans to open the rest by the end of May.

Homebase has similar precautions in place, with aisles in-store acting like roads with junctions, where customers must “look both ways” before moving on. Homebase would not be drawn on how long it expects the trial to last, or why it chose to reopen the stores that it did. 

Reopening stores carries with it an inherent risk that all retailers will feel as lockdown restrictions are lifted, it just so happens that hardware retailers are dealing with these challenges sooner rather than later.

Ultimately, it is a learning curve where retailers can only do what they think is best – some have honed their online offerings, while others have taken the time to figure out the safest way to welcome customers back to physical stores. 

The appetite for shoppers to engage in a bit of lockdown DIY SOS is clearly there – and the retailers that are able to provide online inspiration and safe stores will be the ones that prosper during the pandemic and beyond.