With overall wood-care sales down almost £17m year on year between January and October, it is clear that 2012 has been a difficult time for the market.
According to new figures from GfK, most of the decline came from exterior products which, in common with many other garden care categories, suffered largely due to the poor summer.

Water-based treatments were down 13% in value when compared to last year and the value of garden furniture care fell 23%. Decking declined by 15%.

However, there are still areas of strong performance within exterior wood-care. Garden colour products enjoyed 10% value growth between January and October and sales in litres have also increased.

Interior wood-care products were also hit this year, says GfK, but despite poor performance from the varnish categories interior furniture care did manage to report small value growth.

The light bulb market is faring better, according to GfK, with shifts in consumer buying habits leading to year-on-year value growth of 5% in a market where volumes are 18% down over the January to October 2012 period.

Light bulb volume sales were 62% higher in October than in September, but the volume of light bulbs sold always increases when the clocks go back. The four-month period from October to January is a crucial period for light bulb sales: over these four months, around half of total annual volumes are sold.

Incandescent bulbs have been gradually phased out across Europe over the last four years and September this year saw the final stages of this process. More modern lighting, such as halogen and more recently LED, has seen massive growth as a result, says GfK, and volume growth in both has been boosted by the introduction of additional bulb shapes and fittings that fill the gaps left by discontinued incandescent lighting.

Customers who may have been using newer technology to incandescent lighting, such as compact fluorescent low energy bulbs, have also been led to invest in better technology that not only looks better but performs better.