Do It Yourself: Men and Women Motivated by Different Factors

FGI Research, in an effort to understand how homeowners are saving money this year, conducted an independent study on the subject of DIY projects.  Social media sites are full of information about how to do everything from simple at-home repairs to large DIY upgrades. American consumers reported that using social media sites greatly increased their ability to do DIY projects.  The social media sites they use most frequently include Facebook (29%), YouTube (24%), and personal blogs (15%).

Economic Downturn Causes Uptick in DIY

Of people who do DIY projects regularly, 28% report doing more DIY projects now than they did 12 months ago. The frequency of people doing DIY projects is not only increasing because of the educational opportunities on the internet, but also because of the downturn in the economy.  In fact, 33% of DIYers said that they do more DIY projects specifically because of the down economy.  Furthermore, 58% of people who do DIY regularly said that part of their motivation is expense.

Gendered Motivations
Our analysts also looked at differences in DIY preferences by gender.  The majority of respondents who did ‘light DIY’ projects were women (69%); as opposed to those who said they do ‘medium and heavy’ levels of DIY, who were overwhelmingly male.  Furthermore, women had performed only 1-2 DIY projects in the past 12 months. Most men reported doing 3-5 or more in the same time. The reasons why people chose to do DIY projects also differed by gender.  25% of those who said that ‘completing DIY projects gives me a sense of satisfaction’ were male.  Of those who said their main motivation was expense, or that they ‘enjoy learning how to do DIY projects,’ most were women.

Actionable Insights
It is important to note the differences in appeal to both men and women when thinking about the DIY market.  The main motivation behind a woman’s purchase of DIY products may be to save money or learn a new skill; a male consumer may simply be motivated by the sense of satisfaction he gets with a job well done.  This could influence how a business markets to each demographic. Research into the differences in gender demographics, using targeted sampling and specific survey questions, can help inform marketing plans to each gender.

Next Steps You Can Take

• Learn more about the results of this study: complimentary access to the data in this report, including cross-tabulated results, is available upon request from FGI Research.
• Contact FGI Research: click here or call us at (919) 929-7759
• Explore FGI Research’s market research solutions, including custom panels, full service research, and our online sample (SmartPanel).
• Join FGI Research’s online panel to participate in future studies.

Survey Methods
Date of Study: 8/24/2009
Total Responders: 259
Sample Source: FGI SmartPanel

This nationally-representative sample consists of adults aged 18 and up and is balanced to the US population using recent census data. One can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

Tags: consumer behavior, demographics, DIY, gender, TrendTruth