Wickes Study Shows Brits Are Less Inclined To Ask Parents For DIY Advice

• Majority of Brits no longer turn to parents for DIY assistance
• Around half now turn to Instagram, YouTube or TikTok when taking on home improvement projects instead of asking for help from tradesmen or family members
• Prof. Deborah Sugg Ryan: DIY landscape and the way we learn has changed…post-pandemic, the home hub has encouraged a new generation of DIY-ers
• The era of parent DIY SOS, when 20, 30 and even 40-somethings traditionally turned to parents for DIY help, are over, according to a new study.

A survey of 1,500 adults by home improvement retailer Wickes reveals over a half (54%) of Brits say their parents can’t do DIY themselves, they’re not confident in parental advice and wouldn’t do a good job - even costing them more money in the long run.

And as a result of parents’ lack of knowledge, almost half of Brits (46%) are turning to social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube or Instagram when taking on a DIY project instead of asking for help from a professional tradesmen or family member.

Overall, more than two in five (44%) believe that older family members are less likely to teach their children how to do DIY today than previous generations were.

Parents’ shortcomings are also having an effect on the social life of their children - with the average person now spending 2.2 hours searching for DIY skills and inspiration on social media, compared with being down the pub with friends or 1.8 hours on going out for dinner.

Another deciding factor on turning to social media for DIY tutorials were around the cost of living, with over a third (37%) citing their monthly payments, such as rent or mortgage payments, makes them unable to afford professional help.

On average, each time those surveyed successfully undertook DIY themselves instead of hiring a professional, they saved a whopping £344.

Top 10 Most Searched for DIY Tasks on Social Media:

1. Painting a room (65%)
2. Putting up shelves (55%)
3. Replacing a toilet seat (54%)
4. Replacing handles (51%)
5. How to wallpaper a room (48%)
6. Changing light fittings (39%)
7. Laying floor (30%)
8. Creating extra storage (29%)
9. Replacing taps or sanding floors (28%)
10. Replacing kitchen units (23%)

Professor Deborah Sugg Ryan, design historian and TV presenter, said:

"Over the last 50 years, the landscape of DIY has changed vastly. Historically, learning the technique of fixing or building things in the home was taught via school from a young age and also through people in your family.

People also learnt from magazines and manuals and had time to master skills from wallpaper hanging to bricklaying. Nowadays, we are much less reliant on print media, and this means that the way we learn has changed. We want content that is easily accessible and doesn’t tie us to a particular schedule. We are now often poor on time and so we need material that’s short but still tells us how to do the job.

During the pandemic, there was a huge boom in home improvement. The home, for many, became a hub of where you live, work, exercise and rest and it encouraged a new generation of DIY-ers who want to learn new skills and social media allowed them to do this."

Gary Kibble, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer at Wickes, added:

"Over the past five decades Wickes has helped DIY-ers with lots of content to support and celebrate home improvement. Many will remember our print how-to guides that were found in store, we had catalogues that not only showed our range but provided advice. And before social media, we even published a hardback book called ‘Winning Ideas From Wickes’; it cost 99p in 1984 and had over 240 pages of customer projects and good ideas. The original ‘user generated content’, this book showed customers standing proudly in front of their projects and provided detailed accounts as to how others could create the same thing. Move to almost 40 years later and these images of finished projects and how to achieve them can be found online.

In the last ten years we’ve shifted most of our printed material online to ensure it's not only accessible for customers but it remains up to date. As a business we want to help the nation feel house proud, so inspiring their next project in a language they can relate to, is why we continue to focus on digital content across our website, YouTube as well as creating short hacks and tips on Instagram and TikTok."

The research by Wickes was conducted as part of a campaign to mark the home improvement retailer’s 50th anniversary. The retailer, which first opened its doors in 1972, has undertaken the research to look at how home improvement has changed over the past half a century.

Source : Wickes 

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