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This paper reports findings from a small scale study exploring the role gender plays in the interactions between customers and front‐line staff in DIY retailing. Drawing on materials gathered through observations, informal discussions with staff and focus groups, this study suggests that “maleness” pervades many aspects of DIY retailing. For the respondents the image of the case retailer, B&Q, and the products sold had male connotations. Furthermore, male customers perceived male customer‐facing staff to have better knowledge of technical DIY than female employees, even though this was not always the case. Given the rising interest from women in home improvements, it would appear that measures need to be put in place to create a more “inclusive” DIY store environment for female customers, and one that challenges the stereotypical assumptions held by many male home improvement customers.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the accelerated growth within the Australian do-it-yourself (DIY) market and discusses the factors and drivers affecting consumer motivations to engage in such assembly tasks.

Using a case study approach, evaluations and critical analysis of the DIY industry was being formulated by drawing on real life brands and examples. An analysis of various DIY retail strategies and DIY decking companies was synthesised to provide insights into the DIY industry.

The insights into the industry outlines the changing consumer attitudes and motivations towards DIY and decking tasks. The findings on an evolving DIY industry, in particular the decking market demonstrate useful implications for academics, policy makers and brand practitioners.

There have been little industry studies that delve into specifically decking products. Considering the vast increase in homeware, renovations, and gardening, the study provides insights from various case studies into the strategies undertaken by Australian and global companies. In addition, the majority of studies undertaken have also been concerned with the intrinsic motivations of consumers and not necessarily the extrinsic effect that brands and retailers advertently and inadvertently communicate and signal to consumers of DIY products.

Distribution has been a major element of retailers′ marketing strategy in recent years as companies strive to control costs but at the same time seek competitive advantage through improving service to stores and gaining greater control of stock in the supply chain. In an interview survey of distribution directors from major multiple groups, all companies were reviewing their distribution strategy and many had made major changes to their distribution system. Centralisation of stock in strategically located RDCs and the use of third party contractors were main features of retail companies′ strategy. Contractors were much more aggressive in marketing their services to retailers than hitherto. This is partly related to the competitive and turbulent nature of the industry. In a survey of marketing directors/managers of distribution companies, it was clear that firms were trying to raise their profile in the market as they “went public” and/or because they were moving into new industry sectors away from their “core” specialist areas.

Charts the success of an experiment by B&Q, the large DIY chainstore, in opening a store, staffed entirely by older workers. The subsequent success of this proactive response to the changing demographic structure has proved to managers and public alike, that older workers are a valuable part of the UK labour market.

Explains that UK consumers currently spend over £9 billion on do‐it‐yourself (DIY) home improvement products. States that in the 1980s this was the UK’s fastest growing major retail sector, and the booming UK housing market, especially the number of house moves, was widely thought to be the main stimulus for this growth. Reveals that the annual number of house moves has fallen by 50 per cent since 1988 but the DIY market has still grown, which suggests that the link between DIY and the housing market has either changed or is not as strong as previously believed. Reassesses the major factors which affected the DIY market in the 1980s through data analysis and multiple regression techniques. Suggests from the results that the effect of house moves on the DIY market is less than conventional wisdom would indicate. Notes that the most significant factors have been identified and are being used in a five‐year forecast which shows growth in line with increases in the general economy in a new, mature DIY market. Concludes that the results highlight the care needed when basing forecasts on a single factor which may no longer be valid.

To understand the potential for various types of retailers, it is essential to appreciate retailer' positioning in the marketplace. Positioning has a critical effect on retailers' competitiveness and performance. Despite the significance and popularity of retail positioning, a few gaps remain that prompt the need for this research. First, little has been written about positioning in the building materials distribution industry, as compared with other retail sectors. Second, the retail classification literature has rarely included positioning as a dimension of retailer characteristics, although, in essence, they are both ways to understand retailer strategy and behaviour. To fill these research gaps, the objective of this research is to contribute to retail positioning research, using the Swedish building material distribution industry as a study setting. Specifically, it has two key goals: to develop a classification framework focusing on the Swedish building material distribution market; and to analyse those distributors by strategic groups and identify their common business priorities.

This research looked at a majority of building material distributors in the Swedish market. A total of 23 interviews were conducted with managing directors or similar from case companies. Interviews ranged from 40 to 90 minutes in duration. This research adapted materials developed for other purposes in order to enhance and strengthen primary data.

This study develops a classification framework of building material distributors and provides an overview of distributors operating in the Swedish markets. Drawing on theory from retail positioning and classification, the research result suggests that the studied distributors can be classified into three strategic groups: DIY‐service focused; DIY‐cost focused; and builders' merchant (BM)‐service focused. Research also showed that distinguishing building material distributor by customer type is not as effective as it once was; there is a trend of internationalisation in the Swedish building material distribution industry; and distributors exert growing central control over certain areas, such as purchasing and marketing.

The building material distribution industry attracts little research attention when compared to other sectors, for instance food and grocery retailing. Given this, the value of this article lies in identifying the leading companies in Sweden and offering strategic analysis of their business developments and focus. Insights into building material distributors' supply requirements are provided.

Over the last 40 years Do‐It‐Yourself (DIY) consumers have evolved from relative obscurity to a major multibillion dollar per year market. Research findings based on 403 DIY cases were used to develop insights for the formulation of retailer strategy. Types of projects undertaken and annual activity rates formed the basis of the investigation. Nine project categories were identified: carpentry, vehicle, painting, electrical, lawn and garden, plumbing, sewing, wall and floor covering, and masonry. Annual activity rates of the sample DIYers were used to identify three major groups: light doers, average doers, and heavy doers. The type of retail outlet preferred (e.g., department store, hardware store) depended primarily upon the project category the DIYer was considering. However, the mix of a retailer's product, price, promotion, and place elements desired by DIYers was related to activity levels. This led the authors to suggest that retail strategies might appropriately be developed along these two lines. First, consider which project categories retailer wishes to enter. Second, adjust the merchandising offering to best serve DIYers according to their activity levels.

Reflecting the broader “cultural turn” in retail studies, recent surveys of do‐it‐yourself (DIY) consumers have emphasised human agency rather than economic constraints when explaining their motives for purchasing DIY products. The aim of this paper, however, is to evaluate critically this agency‐oriented interpretation of the DIY retail market. Analysing evidence from English urban areas, it is shown that consumers' reasons for acquiring DIY products can be neither reduced simply to a lifestyle choice and nor can their behaviour be explained merely in terms of economic constraints. Such either/or thinking obfuscates how both co‐exist in people's motives and combine in contrasting ways in different populations. To transcend and reconcile these contrasting explanations, a both/and approach is thus adopted here that recognises how economic necessity and choice are entangled in rationales for participation in DIY. The paper concludes by exploring the wider implications of this finding for the economy/culture debates in retail studies.

Online shoppers make product purchase decisions based on product information shown on a retailer's website and potentially in comparison to that seen on competitors' websites. Insufficient, poor quality or missing information about a product can lead to reduced retailer sales. Measuring online product information quality (PIQ) is therefore an essential element in helping retailers maximize their potential success. This paper aims (1) to identify directly quantifiable PIQ criteria, (2) to assess the effects of PIQ and (3) to evaluate the moderating effect of product involvement.

The authors conducted a scenario-based experiment within 3,544 do-it-yourself (DIY) online shoppers from the United Kingdom (UK). Within an 8 × 2 × 2 between-subjects design, the authors manipulated the factors PIQ criteria (8), PIQ level (2) and product type (2).

The findings support that poor PIQ has a negative impact on consumers online shopping outcomes. The authors also found that the effects of PIQ differ between the various criteria, the product category and the level of consumer involvement in the selling process. In the context of product depiction, title readability and product attribute comparability with other retailers' websites a high level of PIQ is required. Moreover, high involvement products need a higher level of PIQ than low involvement products.

This research expands website quality and service failure literature by introducing PIQ criteria and its effects in the context of online retailing. The authors also establish actionable managerial recommendations to assist retailers to embrace and utilize PIQ to better understand their own potential website and thus business improvements.

Superstores, convenience stores, supermarkets, limited line stores, the future for own brand and generic products, the growth in DIY, the non‐food sector. All these subjects are covered by John Allan of Fine Fare who puts his assessment of the market within the context of the developments of the last decade and his predictions for the next. Also tackled are such questions as the fate of the department stores and specialist multiples and chain stores, as well as the prospect for in‐home shopping. This paper was presented to the Oyez IBC conference, “Retailing in the Eighties” in London recently.