Propelled by Recession, Do-It-Yourself Market Slated for Growth

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Market researcher Packaged Facts, headquartered here, released a report, “Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Consumers in the U.S.: DIY Markets in a Down Economy,” which indicates the sector aided by a down economy will continue to grow by an average of approximately 6% annually from 2008-2013 and register cumulative growth of 34%.

“Research shows that here are 58 million DIY food gardeners, 67 million Americans who change their own motor oil, and 36 million women who color their hair at home,” according to the report.

Based on demographic and economic factors, Packaged Facts makes several substantial projections about the continued growth of DIY consumers during the 2008 to 2013 period.

The number of women using at-home hair coloring is expected to increase 10% to total 40 million, a number growing faster than the rate of growth in the female population as a whole. The proportion of taxpayers using computer software will increase by 13% as members of Gen Y continue to mature, enter the job market, and file tax returns. More car owners will plunge into DIY car maintenance seeking to avoid costly vehicular problems and will increase the number of automotive DIYers by 16%. Meanwhile economic and cultural factors will increase the interest in food gardening.

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