In welcome news for the KBB sector, home improvement and DIY spending saw growth for the first time since June 2023, according to new data from Barclays.
According to the bank’s latest Consumer Spending Report, renovation and DIY spending grew by around 0.9% in March. This is significant, Barclays says, because this is the first time this category has moved into growth in almost two years.
Outside of just the KBB sector, Barclays also said spend at garden centres had increased by more than 13% last month – its biggest rise since January, making it the fastest growing category in the report. In related findings, a quarter of UK adults (23%) reported that they planned to undertake gardening jobs over the upcoming Easter bank holiday weekend.
Aside from just getting their hands dirty in the garden, 13% of UK adults said they also planned to use the bank holiday weekend to undertake DIY and home renovation work.
Across the board, Barclays’ data shows household spending as a wider category saw growth of just under 3%, which was bolstered by an increase of 4.6% in electronics and a rise of 1.8% in furniture sales.
This is against a backdrop of a slight year-on-year dip in overall retail spending, which declined by 0.2% in March. “Essential spending” was down by 2.9% – mostly dragged down by a 4% decrease in supermarket spending – but “non essential spending” saw positive growth of 2.2% in March 2025.
“Overall consumer spending saw a slight rise in March, as consumers managed their budgets ahead of anticipated bill rises,” explained Rohan Kumar, head of client insights at Barclays. “Despite this caution, confidence in discretionary spending remained strong, with the sunnier weather boosting categories such as garden centres.”
