B&Q Publishes 'The Way We Live Now - 2024' Report

• B&Q’s report ‘The Way We Live Now - 2024’ reveals this year’s top insights into how the relationship with our homes is changing 
• The report finds women are feeling more confident at doing more home improvement projects with 93% of women having completed a project in the last year in the last year, with men equally as concerned as women that their home is on trend. 
• Social media is providing confidence and boosting skills with 82% of Gen Z women inspired to do more complex DIY themselves by other women on social media
• Renters are leading the way with a trend for changing rooms multiple times a year with 31% changing their home décor seasonally
• With tradespeople in high demand, more people are putting their DIY skills to use, with 48% of those who couldn’t find a tradesperson taking on simpler projects themselves

Today, B&Q has released its report ‘The Way We Live Now - 2024’, revealing the year’s top insights into how the relationship with our homes is changing. From challenging DIY stereotypes to the rise of the Social Media Home Improver, and the impact of the high demand for tradespeople, the study of over 2000 people highlights how the nation’s approach and attitudes towards home improvement continue to adapt and evolve. 

Challenging DIY stereotypes

B&Q’s report, ‘The Way We Live Now - 2024’ has revealed increasingly challenged stereotypes between previously gendered perceptions in DIY, with the younger generation leading the charge. Three in four (74%) Gen Z women revealed they enjoy doing home improvement and the majority (80%) feel empowered when learning new DIY skills. Gen Z women are also now almost as confident as Gen Z men in doing DIY tasks (69% vs 73%). What’s more, almost 2 in 3 (64%) of Gen Z women say they could personally make a piece of furniture whilst nearly 7 in 10 (68%) believe they could install a shelf or bookcase. 

More women are joining men in undertaking heavier DIY tasks, with women now being just as likely as men to have used a nail gun and a floor sander and over 9 in 10 (93%) of women having made their own home improvements in the last year. 

Meanwhile, men are also challenging stereotypes, as men show they are equally as house proud. A third of both men and women say it’s important that their home décor is on trend, and 1 in 5 of all cushions bought last year were by men with no involvement from others. 

The Rise of the Social Media Home Improver

Social media is increasingly becoming a source of confidence and skills, as well as inspiration and motivation, for DIYers. DIY content has become a driving force in empowering a generation of young women, with over 4 in 5 (82%) Gen Z women saying that seeing other women do complex home DIY has inspired them to do more themselves. In fact, almost 4 in 5 (77%) say that watching videos of people doing DIY has made them realise they can do projects themselves, when previously they have hired tradespeople. What’s more, almost 1 in 4 (26%) Gen Z women have used TikTok videos for very complex DIY tasks such as installing a bathroom or building an extension. 

Ever-Changing Rooms

B&Q’s report, ‘The Way We Live Now - 2024’ also shows that 2 in 5 (40%) Brits look to switch up their home décor regularly to keep it fresh, and renters are leading the way with these seasonal changes. 2 in 3 (65%) renters buy smaller items for their home at least every couple of months, compared to 3 in 5 (57%) of all Brits. There’s a clear appetite for smaller seasonal projects from updating decorative items to painting walls and buying new plants, with more than 1 in 4 (27%) Brits changing the décor in their home to reflect the season. 

Tradespeople in High Demand

The report shows that people are having difficulty booking tradespeople and this is a motivator to do projects themselves, particularly simpler projects. 4 in 5 (81%) tradespeople are booked up in advance, whilst 2 in 3 (66%) of their customer base say it’s getting more difficult to find tradespeople. However, this hasn’t deterred the nation from completing projects, with almost half (48%) of Brits taking on simple projects themselves, and 1 in 3 (32%) asking friends and family to help complete more moderate projects. In fact, 1 in 4 (23%) women have done a DIY project themselves in the past year because they were unable to find a tradesperson to do the work. 

Graham Bell, CEO, B&Q said: “We want everyone to feel empowered to improve their homes and it’s fantastic to see that younger people, and more women, are feeling more confident to do DIY projects and are enjoying making their homes their own.  Social media videos and DIY influencers are a driving force in helping to build skills as well as confidence. We’re also seeing how high demand for busy tradespeople is leading some home improvers to decide to do projects themselves.” 

B&Q’s report ‘The Way We Live Now – 2024’ can be viewed on the B&Q website, diy.com: Reports | Operations | Responsible Business | B&Q (diy.com)

Source : B&Q

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