They learned it on TikTok: the generation spending £17,641 a year on DIY and home improvement
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The pandemic gave millions of Britons something unexpected: time. Weeks of lockdowns turned into months, and with nowhere to go, people turned their attention to their homes and gardens. The paintbrushes came out, decking went down, raised beds were built and YouTube tutorials were watched on repeat. What nobody predicted was that when normal life resumed, they wouldn't stop.
Six years on, and home improvement is one of the most resilient spending categories in UK retail. The UK DIY and home improvement market was valued at £11.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach £16.67 billion by 2033. 51% of UK homeowners undertook a renovation in 2024, up from 48% the year before. 80% of UK adults have carried out DIY work on their current home. The tools are out and they're staying out.
How social media transformed the UK DIY market
What nobody saw coming was the role social media would play in reshaping who the DIY customer actually is.
#homeDIY has accumulated 3.3 billion views on TikTok. #DIYProject has over 1.9 million posts. 81% of 25-34 year olds now use social media for DIY ideas – the highest of any age group. And 26% of under-25s say they learned their DIY skills from TikTok, YouTube and Instagram rather than from a parent or a trade course.
This isn't a niche trend. It's a fundamental shift in how a generation approaches their homes – and their spending reflects it. Homeowners aged 25-34 spent an average of £17,641 on trend-led home upgrades in the past year, 66% more than the £10,632 average for those over 35. 97% of them followed at least one trend-led home upgrade in the past year. These are not tentative first-time buyers cautiously repainting a bedroom. They are confident, trend-led, social media-obsessed consumers with big budgets.
The UK DIY and home improvement market in 2026
The numbers are significant for DIY suppliers and home improvement brands. The average UK household now spends £1,150 a year on DIY and home improvement. 22% of homeowners plan to increase that budget, by an average of £7,386. Outdoor living and landscaping continues to grow as homeowners invest in garden terraces, patios, driveways and outdoor entertaining spaces.
The crossover between garden and home improvement is increasingly where the growth sits. Customers who come to a garden centre for plants are the same customers investing in tools, paints, storage and practical home improvement products for both indoor and outdoor spaces. The line between garden retail and home improvement has never been blurrier – and for suppliers, that's an opportunity.
Where the buyers come to source home and garden improvement products
The retailers sourcing home and garden improvement products for their shelves include B&Q, The Range, Amazon, Homebase, Wickes, and Robert Dyas, alongside the UK's leading garden centre groups – Dobbies, Blue Diamond, Hillier, Notcutts and Bents – all of whom are expanding their home improvement ranges to meet the demand of a customer base that no longer separates their garden from their home.
Glee's dedicated Home & Garden Improvement zone brings DIY suppliers, tool brands, paint suppliers and home improvement specialists together with these buyers once a year at the NEC Birmingham. If you want to get your products in front of the people making ranging decisions for the UK's biggest DIY and garden retail accounts, September is when that conversation happens.
Glee 2026 takes place 8–10 September at the NEC Birmingham, co-located with Autumn Fair on 8–9 September.