British consumers projected to spend £35bn on home improvements
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Despite the country’s current economic and political uncertainty, six out of ten Brits look set to splash the cash on refurbishments and upgrades to the tune of about £1,500 per project.
Sprucing up walls with fresh paper or paint will be the priority for the majority of people (62%), while the kitchen (25%), bathroom (24%) and bedroom (23%) are the rooms most likely to be freshened up by adults who are tired of their cooking, washing and sleeping areas.
The findings are part of a retail report commissioned by Manchester based mixed reality company DigitalBridge, which warned earlier this year that the home retail sector could be missing out on an extra £1bn a year due to customers walking away from purchases because they couldn’t imagine what products or completed projects would look like at home.
This “imagination gap” is a significant challenge for retailers, and could impact the industries financial prospects, with 36% of home owners admitting to already putting off or decided against making a purchase because of this problem.
David Levine, CEO of DigitalBridge, which has won financial backing from John Lewis and innovation specialist L Marks, said: “The UK’s home retail sector is a major part of the economy – as these spending predictions show – but retailers, especially those in the home décor market, shouldn’t ignore the potential hurdle this imagination gap could cause in the future.”
“While nearly 60% of homeowners are planning to spend money upgrading or refurbishing parts of their homes in the coming months, a significant number have already put off making any changes, meaning retailers are missing out on potentially millions, if not billions of pounds, of extra sales.”