Different priorities
In the United States, garden landscaping was the most frequently undertaken home improvement project in 2020. Meanwhile, European homeowners seemed to have different priorities regarding their house upkeep. In France, for instance, the main focus was on home decoration, whereas putting in a new bathroom was the most popular project in the UK. The global home improvement craze had a profound effect on the DIY retail market. In fact, the U.S. home improvement market size increased by more than 12 percent in 2020, the largest year-over-year increase in the last decade.
The smart home
Although traditional home improvement renovations such as bathroom and kitchen remodeling were the most frequently conducted projects during the pandemic, high-tech home solutions also increased in popularity. Installing features such as high-speed internet and security cameras was done almost as frequently as garden landscaping and indoor painting in the U.S.. This points towards a major trend in home improvement: the smart home. Using interconnected devices and appliances to automate the way a home functions, the number of smart homes is forecast to reach nearly 500 million by 2025. As of 2020, a significant portion of American kitchens is already equipped with wireless controls, touchscreen displays, or built-in apps. Other smart home items include smart speakers, camera doorbells, and voice-controlled devices.
