With value growth of 16% compared with the same month last year, the DIY and gardening sector stood out as a clear winner in the durables sector during June, according to the latest report from GfK.
It was the third consecutive month of growth for the DIY and gardening category, which followed March's disastrous -23% drop with a +5% result in April, +12% in May and now +16% in June, with outdoor living lines taking centre stage. According to GfK, "The outdoor categories [received] huge boosts in value compared to June last year. Barbecues jumped an impressive 90% whilst hoses and storage more than doubled, illustrating the reliance of some seasonal products on favourable weather."

It's a welcome change from this time last year, when an exceptionally wet month saw the DIY and gardening category drop by -9% following a flat result in June 2011.

DIY and gardening continued to take the lion's share of the durable sector's moving annual total market value, making up £10.1bn of the £35.4bn total, an increase of 1.1% compared with last year. Market value, meanwhile, increased by 15.6% year-on-year to £1bn for DIY and gardening, accounting for nearly half of the £2.6bn market total.

DIY and gardening also performed well for online sales, which grew by 38.4% versus the same month last year, far eclipsing other categories in the sector including small domestic appliances (up 25%) and IT (up 18%).

The total durables market saw growth for the second month in a row with total value up 0.6% compared with the same month last year. Other categories to see June growth compared with the same month last year were small domestic appliances (up 9%), the automotive sector (up 8%), and major domestic appliances (up 1.4%).