Nine in ten French
people do DIY. Seven
are afraid of getting
it wrong.
Three consecutive years of decline, and one explanation on repeat: purchasing power and the housing market. It is true, and it is not enough. The brake French people cite most is not financial — it is psychological, and it can be treated.
Where does the DIY market stand?
Down for a third consecutive year, with a more reassuring start to 2026. DIY superstore revenue stood at €21.8bn including tax in 2025, down 1.4% — after −1.4% in 2023 and −4.3% in 2024. The total market, all channels, still exceeds €39bn.
Superstores hold 75% of the market, while e-commerce is moving towards 19% of sector revenue.
The shift the revenue figure hides
French people have not stopped doing DIY: they have changed projects. Falling purchasing power and a slower housing market have moved demand from heavy renovation towards routine maintenance and economical repair.
For a retailer this is not a slowdown — it is a change of trade. You do not sell a bathroom project the way you sell a joint that needs redoing. Basket size falls, frequency can rise, and the advice being asked for is not remotely the same.
The real brake: the fear of botching it
Nine in ten French people do DIY, but seven in ten are held back by the fear of getting it wrong. That is by far the most actionable figure in the sector, and the least exploited.
The brake is not financial, and that is what makes it interesting: it is treated through advice, teaching, guarantee of outcome and product design — not through promotion. A 20% discount does not reduce the fear of drilling in the wrong place.
In interviews, this fear breaks down into three distinct anxieties, which call for different answers:
- Fear of causing damage — to the home, to a surface, to something that cannot be replaced. It blocks before purchase, in store as much as online.
- Fear of buying the wrong thing — wrong size, wrong compatibility, wrong quantity. It produces abandonment at the shelf, and a large share of returns.
- Fear of being judged — having to ask, showing that you do not know. It is strong among people who rarely do DIY, and it explains part of the shift to e-commerce, where you can search without being seen.
What it means for a retailer or a brand
- Advice becomes the product. In a market where the dominant brake is fear of failure, value shifts towards whatever reassures: demonstration, situated tutorials, guarantees, take-back if it goes wrong.
- The aisle has to answer before being asked. Fear of judgement makes the customer silent. If understanding requires asking, part of your traffic will leave without buying — and without ever telling you why.
- E-commerce is not only a price channel. It is also a channel of discretion: you can browse at length, compare and learn without exposing yourself. That changes what belongs there.
- Trade and consumer customers no longer meet in the same place. A tradesperson wants a reference ; a consumer wants an answer. Serving both with the same advice model disappoints one of the two.
Why quantitative data is not enough here
« Seven in ten fear getting it wrong » is an excellent figure: it raises the alarm. It does not say what exactly people fear, at which point in the journey the fear blocks, or what lifts it. Those three answers determine everything you can do about it — staff training, aisle content, instructions, guarantee.
It is the kind of gap that closes with a dozen interviews at home, with people who have one project underway and one abandoned.
Frequently asked questions
Is the French DIY market growing in 2026?
No, it is emerging from three consecutive years of decline in the superstore channel: −1.4% in 2023, −4.3% in 2024 and −1.4% in 2025, for €21.8bn including tax. The trade describes 2026 as a gradual, structured recovery rather than a rebound.
What is the main brake on DIY in France?
The fear of getting it wrong, cited by around seven in ten people, ahead of budget. Being psychological, it can be treated through advice, teaching and product design rather than through promotion.
Why is average basket size falling?
Because demand has moved from heavy renovation towards routine maintenance and economical repair. Basket size falls, frequency can rise, and the kind of advice expected changes completely.
How do you study what blocks the purchase?
At home, not in a facility. An interview in front of the project underway and the project abandoned produces material that neither a questionnaire nor a group gives — because fear of getting it wrong is precisely what people will not admit in front of others.