What is DIY? What is the DIY market? Overview of this market of DIY stores with a wide selection

How easy it is to confuse this word with a less pleasant one, like

Die (to leave this world).

But the abbreviation DIY has nothing in common with this word.

DIY, D.I.Y.— (di i wai) from English. Do It Yourself- « do it yourself “- a culture of learning useful skills while working on any product, development, or project that is physically feasible at any stage. Usually, The skills themselves in the process of such learning are not an end in themselves. On the contrary, the goal of our community is to acquire useful skills and have fun in the creative process.

DIY as a subculture at the beginning (1950s) - independent work around the house: repairing electrical equipment, household appliances, making furniture, etc.

A little later under DIY self-recording of albums, publishing of fan magazines, and punk movements began to be understood in the same way. As you can see, to the category DIY Almost anything can be attributed made with your own hands and for the sake of achieving results.

The USSR actively promoted ideas for independent creation (or significant modification of existing copies) of radio equipment,electric musical instruments, furniture, etc., as well as various folk arts and crafts, which was partly due to the low level of quality and lack of variety of consumer goods produced, as well as for cultural and educational purposes. There were corresponding sections in magazines, newspapers, on television and radio, and specialized stores “ Skillful hands" And " Do it yourself", selling various industrial semi-finished products, tools and devices for various independent works of a wide range: from artistic sawing, burning, chasing, sewing and knitting, to electrical and radio-electronic parts and components.
The stores sold radio constructors for self-assembly electronic devices (radio, light music, Christmas tree garland switch). It was also possible to purchase various thematic sets of equipment - “Young Chemist”, “Young Astronomer”. Plastic kits for assembling (gluing) models of all kinds of equipment were very popular: ships, planes, tanks, etc. Many men, having mastered many professions that could be useful in the household, became jacks of all trades.

The television program “You Can Do It” was quite popular, which showed various homemade cars, ATVs, agricultural and similar equipment developed and assembled by Soviet enthusiasts. Also known is the section “Little Tricks” in the magazine “Science and Life”, which talks about various household improvements, as well as similar sections in the magazines “Radio”, “Model Designer”, “Youth Technology”, “Young Technician”.

For women, magazines (both thematic and general educational) published a large number of patterns, knitting methods, and embroidery designs. Patterns (drawings of clothing items transferred to fabric) sometimes had to be enlarged using a pantograph.

The almost complete absence of personal (household) computers for sale in the USSR until the mid-1980s was compensated for by publications in the technical magazines Radio, Modeler-Constructor, and Young Technician. Simple home computers Radio-86RK, Specialist, YuT-88, Orion-128 based on the KR580VM80A microprocessor were offered for assembly. Later they became very popular homemade computers of the ZX-Spectrum architecture, the schemes of which and improvements to them were published in the magazines “Radio”, “Radio Amateur”, “ZX-Review”.
Design kits were produced for ZX-Spectrum architecture computers "do it yourself" with a ready-made printed circuit board, a full set of parts, as well as an electrical circuit included. The production of sets was simultaneously established in both factory and artisanal conditions. At flea radio markets it was possible to buy a ready-made printed circuit board, a circuit and radio elements for it. However, far from large cities, it was very difficult to acquire the necessary spare parts and materials due to the shortage: in those days, instead of “buy”, the word “get” was usually used, and this was half the success. Joysticks for home computers mostly also were homemade.

The name of the DIY format (or D.I.Y.) is an abbreviation of the famous English expression Do It Yourself, that is, “Do it yourself.” This format appeared in the economies of Western countries back in the 50-60s of the last century.

Initially, the Do-It-Yourself category included all those activities that a person did on his own, most often at home. For example, making your own furniture, various interior design elements, and so on.

Today, DIY chains most often mean construction hypermarkets that offer a wide range of goods - from dry mixes, concrete and plywood to plumbing fixtures, lamps and various items for home improvement and decoration, that is, everything that will help a person independently or with the help of professionals to implement apartment renovation and furnishing your home.

Story

The ancestors of DIY construction supermarkets can be called small hardware stores, where residents of nearby neighborhoods bought nails, metal utensils, kitchen utensils and other craftsmen's products. You could find such shops, where the artisan himself was often the only seller, in Europe, the USA and the Russian Empire.

The first construction supermarkets appeared in the United States, Great Britain and other European countries in the 1950s. In general, the construction boom began in European countries immediately after World War II, when the demand for materials and furnishings was higher than ever. For a long time, there were no large retail stores that could fully satisfy customer demand, and DIY stores became real pioneers in this area.

In the Soviet Union, the “Do it yourself” format was more popular than anywhere else, since the lack of a choice of goods in stores that could satisfy demand forced citizens to independently resolve issues with arranging an apartment or house. The popularity of the format was also facilitated by the wide distribution of such circles and magazines as “Young Technician” and so on. But the construction stores themselves, which can be classified as DIY, appeared in Russia already in the 90s.

And although this format for Russia and other CIS countries is a fairly new phenomenon and began to actively develop only a little over ten years ago, today the DIY network is already represented in our country by numerous large hypermarket chains, in which every buyer can choose everything they need for repairs and furnishings. Houses.

Western companies became pioneers in the Russian market of construction stores and began to actively conquer the new market. The most widespread, large networks include: OBI, Leroy Merlin, K-Rauta, Castorama and Home Center.

Russian hypermarket chains are, first of all, Vimos, Metrika, SuperStroy, Domotsentr, Stroilandiya, Domovoy, Maxidom and others. It is worth noting that almost every Russian region has its own construction retail chains.

Goods

As mentioned above, the DIY format includes a very wide range of goods and products, in particular:

• goods intended for finishing premises and carrying out repair work. This includes wallpaper, paints and varnishes, fittings, roofing, drywall, flooring and carpeting, grouts, dry mixes, nails, cement, insulation, adhesives, sealants, solvents and much more;
• entrance and interior doors;
• work clothes, gloves, rubber shoes;
• wood products: panels, lining, plywood and other types of goods;
• security systems, intercoms and alarm systems;
• electrical engineering: lighting fixtures, light bulbs, cables, transformers and other electrical appliances;
• water supply systems, including plastic pipes, various valves, and so on;
• tools, hand and electric;
• furniture - kitchens, tables, chairs, etc.;
• plumbing - bathtubs, sinks, showers, taps, mixers and the like.

And this is not a complete list of DIY products; in general, Do-It-Yourself products also include such a category as gardening and vegetable garden products, for example, flower pots, tools for working on the site, even fertilizers and seeds.

Features of the DIY format in Russia

It is worth noting that construction hypermarkets in Western countries are really aimed at ensuring that the buyer can complete the repairs independently with the help of purchased products. The services of specialists in Europe are quite expensive, so in most hypermarkets, directly on the screens installed in the trading floors, visitors are given detailed instructions on how to replace the faucet themselves, put up wallpaper or arrange an open veranda.

In Russia, the format of construction supermarkets could be called Do it for me, that is, “Do it for me,” since large projects, such as major home renovations or bathroom renovation, are increasingly trusted to professionals, and the home owners themselves only choose materials or interior items.

In addition, experts note that if previously men remained the main category of buyers of construction stores, now women are increasingly choosing products in the “Do it yourself” category. Perhaps this is due to the further expansion of the assortment, which may include dishes, curtains, curtains, vases and other little things that become interior details.

Convenient for buyers and beneficial for owners, the time-tested DIY format is currently becoming increasingly widespread in all regions of Russia, and new supermarkets of already well-known chains are opened every year.

Both the area of ​​these stores and the product matrix have increased. We will talk about what DIY sales are in this article.

What is the DIY segment

DIY (do it yourself) - translated as do it yourself, this is a fairly well-known English expression meaning what a person does on his own at home. Currently, the DIY segment refers to construction stores that sell goods for the home and garden. Due to the boom in suburban construction and renovations, the demand for these goods has increased greatly.

DIY is not just a market segment; initially it is an entire subculture. It is interesting that it developed in the USSR and in the West a little differently. In the Soviet Union, people sought to create things with their own hands due to the small selection and often low quality of products. In the West, DIY is a protest against capitalism and an unwillingness to pay for what you can do yourself. Thus, the DIY movement promotes the development of individuality and rejects the consumption of the same product.

DIY received a significant boost in development with the spread of the Internet. Anyone can watch a training video and make repairs (and not only repairs) at home. Previously, all knowledge was passed on by word of mouth. Literature for a wide range of readers has become available relatively recently. And if you were born into a carpenter’s family, then the chances of becoming a blacksmith yourself were very small. Now everything is much simpler, the consumer has a choice whether to do the work himself or hire a specialist.

DIY segment

Until the 2000s, small shops and markets operated in the DIY segment of Russia. There was no question of any convenience for the consumer. At the same time, active construction of new houses and the development of suburban construction began. Against this background, the first DIY hypermarket format stores appeared in Russia. The success of such stores was enormous; for several years the DIY market grew by double digits. Well-known Western networks quickly joined in, and now there are about 600 networks operating on the market. The area of ​​modern Russian DIY stores exceeds 10,000 square meters.

DIY networks

INFOLine DIY RETAIL RUSSIA TOP is an annual rating of large construction companies in Russia.

OBI

The German OBI was the first in the super-promising market in Russia and in the early years carried out active regional expansion, which was facilitated by a strategic partnership with Ikea Centers Russia, which simultaneously launched a network of MEGA shopping and entertainment centers in the largest cities.

Leroy Merlin

The French Leroy Merlin, part of Groupe Adeo, which operates 400 stores in 12 countries, entered the Russian market in 2004, and began active development in 2005. Today the group unites 9 different formats in the DIY segment, and the Leroy Merlin chain itself is the first in Europe and the third in the world in terms of sales.

Castorama

Another major international player, the British chain Castorama, part of the DIY holding Kingfisher, came to Russia only in 2006, which did not prevent it from quickly occupying its market share and a stable third place among all operators operating in the country. It is noteworthy that the company began conquering the market not from Moscow, opening its first store in Samara.

K-Rauta

Finnish K-Rauta became the fourth foreign player in the Russian DIY market, opening its first store in St. Petersburg in the fall of 2006. Unlike its main competitors, the retailer controlled by the Kesko concern began to develop the market thanks to the purchase of the Stroymaster chain that existed in Russia. However, in the following years the network did not develop as actively as planned. As of 2016, K-Rauta operates in St. Petersburg (7 hypermarkets), Moscow (3), Yaroslavl, Kaluga and Tula. The Kesko concern also operates in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries and operates a network of 2,000 stores.

Maxidom

"Maxidom" is one of the oldest companies in the Russian market of hypermarkets for construction and renovation. The first store of the retail chain in St. Petersburg was opened back in 1997. Today the company operates a network of 11 full-format hypermarkets with a total area of ​​more than 100 thousand square meters and is one of the largest players in the DIY market.

Petrovich

The Petrovich trading house, specializing in the sale of building materials, was founded in 1995. Today it is one of the leading companies in the market, operating a network of fifteen hypermarkets in St. Petersburg and the region, Petrozavodsk, Moscow and Tver.

Baucenter

The Baucenter company began its activities in the Russian building materials market in 1994 with the opening of a store with an area of ​​200 sq.m. in Kaliningrad. Today the chain unites 9 hypermarkets located in Kaliningrad, Krasnodar, Novorossiysk and Omsk. The total area of ​​Baucenter stores is more than 120,000 sq.m.

DIY products

DIY stores offer a wide range of products. Among them:

• goods intended for finishing premises and carrying out repair work. This includes wallpaper, paints and varnishes, fittings, roofing, drywall, flooring and carpeting, grouts, dry mixes, nails, cement, insulation, adhesives, sealants, solvents and much more;
• entrance and interior doors;
• work clothes, gloves, rubber shoes;
• wood products: panels, lining, plywood and other types of goods;
• security systems, intercoms and alarm systems;
• electrical engineering: lighting fixtures, light bulbs, cables, transformers and other electrical appliances;
• water supply systems, including plastic pipes, various valves, and so on;
• tools, hand and electric;
• furniture - kitchens, tables, chairs and so on;
• plumbing - bathtubs, sinks, showers, taps, mixers and the like.

Some features of the Russian DIY segment are interesting. So in our country such stores are more often visited by women, although in Western countries this is mainly a men's format. In addition, residents of developed countries prefer to do repairs either completely on their own or completely trust specialists. Construction services in the EU are very expensive and are available only to very wealthy people. Residents buy goods from our DIY stores and trust professionals from Central Asia to do complex repairs.

For most modern people, DIY (do it yourself, “do it yourself”) means goods for handicrafts and the actual products of this handicraft. But in fact, the DIY market is a huge thriving segment of modern eCommerce. It includes stores selling products for construction and repair, gardening, cottages, as well as home decor, furniture, tools, plumbing fixtures and much more. Moreoverconstruction and repair- the most extensive niche, let’s talk about it.

Let's consider this niche as a starting niche for a new online store and answer the question: is it worth it? And if so, what should you pay attention to?

50% are goods for construction and repair

The DIY market can even include, for example, the production and sale of craft beer, or the sewing of designer wallets. But the share of this type of product will be microscopic. Still, half of the total sales volume comes from goods for construction and repair - this is about 22 billion rubles according to Data Insight for 2015.

By the way, in Europe, DIY stores first flourished in the post-war period, the mid-forties - everyone needed building materials to restore damaged homes. The war enriched not only fuel suppliers and gunsmiths.

So, one of the most popular goods is building materials, plumbing fixtures and tools for repair and construction.

The market is getting crowded

DIY has become one of the most fast growing segments, “household goods” even entered the top 5 according to InSales for 2015, showing an increase of 60% (“building materials” is slightly less, 44%).

The growth was mainly due to large chains going online. Therefore, you should not think that opening a store and increasing the rankings of successful ones will be easy. Moreover, it is worth considering that only about half All well-known chains have opened their online stores - which means competition will intensify.

Big players rule the market (but only in big cities)

Leroy Merlin, Castorama, Megastroy and other hypermarkets that everyone knows about are offline chains that decided that it would be nice to go online too.

It's incredibly difficult to compete with them, even if you have an investor - these retailers have poured billions into developing and promoting their online stores.

However, there is such a small but pleasant feature - large players do not enter cities with small populations. The exception is Leroy Merlin, which has begun expansion into cities with 200+ thousand inhabitants and is introducing a new format for its stores there.

Otherwise, competition in small cities is significantly less, and you can try to bite off your part of the market.

Scheme: chose on the Internet, bought in a store

The following scheme works in DIY: people choose goods and compare prices online, and go to buy them in an offline hypermarket.

This behavior can be explained by two factors:

• Buyers want to inspect many products in person on the spot, to study the texture, material, and quality.
• One important segment of buyers is professional builders who purchase goods and deliver them to the site themselves.

Thus, you will most likely need an offline location. However, the same scheme does not work with all products - customer behavior and their preferences to buy online or in a store differ from category to category.

Differences exist even within the same category, with some products more likely to be purchased online than others in a physical store.

For this reason, stores in the DIY segment should pay special attention to the possibilities of multi-channel sales and a seamless customer experience. CRM costs and worth including in your business plan.

Bad economic situation is not so bad for DIY

This segment of e-commerce suffers less during the crisis - which cannot be said about many other industries (for example, electronics or clothing). This is due to several factors:

1. People put off purchasing a new home until better times and instead make renovations.
2. Many people do not go on an expensive vacation abroad; they spend it at their dacha.
3. It is becoming more profitable to make it yourself rather than buy it in a store - therefore, various raw materials (fabrics, furniture fittings, etc.) are beginning to be in demand.

It cannot be said that DIY is thriving in a crisis - many networks have significantly reduced the number of their branches, Metrica turned out to be in a difficult financial situation. However, the decline in the solvency of the population does not hit DIY so hard - for example, “Petrovich” after the crisisdemonstrated sales growth by 20% (the share of online sales also increased from 14 to 23%).

DIY is sensitive to changes in the housing market

Since half of all movements in this segment are sales of goods for construction and renovation, it is not surprising that fluctuations in the residential and commercial real estate market also rock DIY sales.

“Due to the current realities, 53% of Russians surveyed in the third quarter of 2016 consider the current conditions for making large purchases to be unfavorable. At the same time, only 9.2% of Russians hold the opposite opinion.” ( Retailer.ru )

At the same time, the volume of housing put into operation and the volume of mortgage loans issued are decreasing.

Data: Retailer.ru

All this, as expected, leads to problems in the DIY market, sales are falling:

Data: Retailer.ru

Buyers have become very price sensitive

The low solvency of the population, the desire to save on repairs by doing it on their own - these prerequisites are pushing stores towards a policy of discounts and sales.

“Demand has shifted towards goods in the middle and low price segments and consumers have become very sensitive to various promotions and sales. In addition, today buyers are increasingly choosing domestic goods: their prices are more stable” -Maria Evnevich, Maxidom network.

For online, this means: the store must maximize its presence in the buyer’s information space, communicate profitable offers quickly, with a high percentage of “hits” with the audience.

We remember that in DIY, the shopping chain often begins online - therefore, the priority tools for online stores in this segment are communication tools - they help deliver the message about the discount to the buyer on time:

It is also worth paying attention to the automation of all communications (trigger letters and web pushes), this will allow the online store to significantly save its budget.

Every customer is worth their weight in gold

Despite the fact that most buyers will look where it is cheaper, without giving preference to any particular store, retailers should make every effort to retain customers.

Loyalty programs for offline and online, And for online - these tools will help not only to “get the most out of” each customer, but also to intercept an almost lost client on the way to a competitor’s website.

Two groups of buyers

DIY is also interesting because there are two large groups of buyers shopping here, and their behavior is radically different.

1. Professionals.Builders, renovation specialists - this group of clients makes up the core of buyers in any DIY store. The products that interest them are power tools, building materials (used at all stages of repair, from roughing to finishing). Another peculiarity of this group is that they do not have much experience in online shopping.
2. Households.Residents prefer to buy in the “household goods” and “plumbing” categories. This segment of the audience is much younger; they buy online, often from mobile devices.

In the DIY industry, as in any other, it is important to consider the specifics of purchases. You cannot make mistakes and target offers to the “wrong” audience. Therefore, for example, product personalization in an online store should work taking into account .

Conclusion

Experts predict that the DIY segment will “get off its knees” no earlier than 2019. However, a growing market that is gradually recovering from the crisis is always a good opportunity for start-up stores.

If you are betting on an online service, do not forget about the recommendations that we have given in this article. Use multichannel marketing, industry-specific (progressive) product personalization and modern tools for informing customers about promotions and other events of interest to them.

In this article I will tell you in detail what it is. DIY, I will describe the history of the term and its features, and also list a couple of DIY examples related to the world of technology and IT.

Many of us have an engineering streak and love to make something new and useful using the parts and tools we have on hand. These could be some household items, various electronic devices, items of clothing, and so on. It turns out that all this creative desire for improvement and innovation has a completely official name, known abroad as DIY (an abbreviation for “Do It Yourself”).

As such, this DIY movement emerged in the middle of the last century. At first, it meant independent work around the house, including various types of household repairs, creating furniture, and so on. Since 1980, the movement has formed into an independent subculture, with its own special style, slang and circle of adherents.

• “Self-taught culture” has gained popularity in music (many little-known performers worked in the styles of punk rock, indie rock, alternative music, etc.).
• Samizdat spread in literature (it was especially popular in the former USSR, where dissident writers published).
• Films, videos and TV series (mainly art-house) were widely shot in the arts.
• The gaming industry produced unique games.
• And amateur tailors created special styles of clothing and so on.

The market could not help but react to the prevalence and mass scale of DIY. Back in the days of the planned economy in the USSR, everyone learned about what DIY was. Do-it-yourself stores were also popular, where they sold many different parts and components, and information support for enthusiasts was provided by such popular publications at that time as “Young Technician”, “Youth Technology”, “Skillful Hands”, “Radio” and others.

Then, in the early 90s, specialized retail chains began to appear in Russia, serving the needs of DIY fans, and now, due to stagnation in the economy and a decrease in the purchasing power of the population, the DIY market is rapidly developing, according to experts, its growth is about 10% in year.

What is DIY in technology and IT (+ examples)

The DIY subculture is widely represented in the IT sector. In addition to those who like to assemble computers on their own (from the mastodons of the Spectrum, Amiga, Atari, etc. level to the more modern Apple Macintosh), there is a whole army of amateur programmers who write various types of programs (from utility programs to games). Amateur technicians are not far behind, assembling a variety of unique computer devices, mobile phones and mp3 players, readers, and so on. In almost every direction there are DIY enthusiasts, sometimes working only on the potential of their own enthusiasm.

After we learned DIY, what it is, I will give you a complete fresh examplesDIY, created by a new generation who are more active and attentive to innovation.

Example 1: Bluetooth speakers

With minimal costs and skillful hands, you will get speakers that can provide very loud and high-quality sound, and they are also very compact and will easily fit in your pocket. This is a great DIY example for enthusiasts and audiophiles.

Necessary materials:

The cost of the project will be 10-15 dollars, and the result will be having speakers with good sound quality on hand.

You can see how they look in action in the video:

About the method of creating columns here.

Example 2. DIY headphones from shells

Another great piece of DIY engineering. According to the developers, they provide excellent sound quality and are not expensive at all.

The sequence of steps to create headphones is shown in the video:

Example 3. Laptop stand

Many lovers of aesthetics and convenience will like this laptop stand:

It is convenient and aesthetically pleasing, and as usual in DIY, it costs minimal financial outlay.

The sequence of actions and the list of necessary components is described in the video:

Example 4. What is a DIY battery for iPhone

The battery capacity of this device is 2800 mah, which is enough for a couple of charges.

The sequence of actions to create it.

Example 5. Robot made from a computer mouse

In the process of creating a DIY robot, a case from a computer mouse is used, which contains minimal electronics. The robot drives on the surface, and when it collides with an obstacle, it is able to turn around and move on.

Conclusion

Having a bright head and skillful hands allows craftsmen to create unique innovative products in various spheres of human life. In the field of information technology, the DIY subculture manifests itself in both hardware and software environments, creating unique devices, technologies, utility and game programs. If you haven’t tried yourself in this area and didn’t know until now what DIY is, then maybe it’s time to try yourself in this, and who knows, maybe you will be able to create something completely new and unique.

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