Paint, Wallcovering And Woodcare Market Boosted By COVID-19 Lockdowns

The paint, wallcovering and woodcare market performed well during lockdown due to global increases in DIY. Despite current challenging conditions including supply chain issues, high material costs, labour shortages and the UK’s numerous political problems, there is long term optimism for the market, especially if major players continue to invest heavily in R&D and sustainable solutions. 

Consumers are also willing to pay more for environmentally friendly and money-saving products. Due to enhanced DIY popularity, several new eco-friendly paint companies have sprung up with innovative products and packaging. Bespoke ‘remixed’ paint is also becoming more fashionable, with both companies and volunteers collecting some of the 50m litres of paint that is estimated to be unused each year in the UK.

The period during the Covid-19 pandemic provided an unexpected huge boost to the market with massive demand for DIY and RMI products. The market grew nearly 8% in 2020 and a further 3% in 2021. However, the pandemic also caused widespread labour shortages and impacted supply chains, while the recent Russia-Ukraine war combined with trade wars (e.g. USA and China) have increased material costs. Labour shortages are further exacerbated by Brexit, with freedom of movement ended for EU citizens. Also, the catalysts for growth (lockdowns, disposable income) are now in decline and there will likely be short-term decreases in market size. 

Michael Graham, Research Manager at AMA Research, comments “the Covid pandemic lockdowns caused a DIY boom in 2020 and 2021, further boosted by increased house moving in 2021 due to the stamp duty exemption. The paint, wallcoverings and woodcare market increased by approximately £125m from 2019 to 2021. The paint and woodcare markets are dominated by five global corporations who account for 80+% of each. The wallcoverings market is markedly different, with around 20 companies accounting for 80%.”

Source : AMA Research

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