The DIY market has been hard hit by the recession because it has come on top of a declining trend that has been evident for the last five years. Nor is there any short term prospect of recovery. Consumers’ incomes are likely to be squeezed both this year and next and the housing market could well see a second fall. It may not actually be a double dip recession, but that is what it will feel like for consumers. The popularity of DIY is declining. In the last five years the number of people doing DIY has fallen by almost 2 million.