DIY Consumer Insights

Trend - Retailers across various industries, such as home and garden, crafts, and even electronics are launching with an emphases on DIY projects. By focusing on DIY, these retailers mainly provide base components rather than prebuilt items, often leading to significantly lower prices than competitors.

Insight - Many consumers prioritize saving money over saving time. When shopping for furniture, for example, consumers opt to buy more affordable DIY furniture rather than more expensive pre-built options. These priorities are now extending to other industries, with consumers in adjacent spaces opting for more engaging DIY solutions in search of both a hobby and a method of saving money. In order to appeal to these consumers in a broader sense, specialized retailers with a focus on DIY are opening.

Trend - 3D printing brands are creating more unique 3D printers that either use a tool-switcher, or several concurrent tools, to print single projects that utilize more than one material. These multi-material printers are designed for more advanced printing jobs for personal or professional use.

Insight - 3D printing is one such field that has grown far larger than just being a hobby for most. Many consumers create businesses, or streamline their startups, by using 3D printers to save drastically on production costs. However, for more complex products, 3D printing was not always viable, leading to these businesses needing to source product components from traditional manufacturing facilities. However, 3D printing brands are now catering to these needs with multi-material and multi-tool printers.

Trend - There is a renewed interest in culinary arts in the TikTok era that also impacts the world of nightlife and drinking. A new era of cocktail fascination is emerging, with mixology treated as an area of interest among consumers. Mixology hobbyists are more interested in flavor combinations and sensorial experience than the simple act of drinking.

Insight - This repositioning of mixology speaks to members of Gen Z who consume less alcohol than their predecessors, but still enjoy the ritual of social drinking. It introduces a new avenue for consumers who lean more sober-curious. With more focus on the craft and alternative functions of cocktails or mocktails, this group can focus on exploring flavor and texture. To these consumers, this pursuit is more about self-expression and immersion into a new topic of interest than sheer consumption.

Trend - Brands in the 3D printing space are releasing materials that prioritize sustainability without compromising on function. The sustainability ranges from including renewable resources, such as wood or plant-based fibres, to using energy-efficient, low-emission production systems.

Insight - 3D printing is continually increasing in popularity not only in industrial applications, but also with hobbyist consumers. However, as the industry continues to expand, it continues to attract more attention from environmental regulators and consumers due to the unrenewable nature of most plastic-based filaments. Brands are recognizing the public and private desires for sustainable materials, and in response are investing in renewable materials and energies.

Trend - Low-cost or free 3D printing courses are being hosted by libraries, universities, and independent websites. These courses lower the barriers of cost and education for 3D printer use to draw more adults to the field, whether as a creative outlet or for CAD (Computer-Assisted Design)-related jobs.

Insight - While many individuals find a balance between work and personal lives, such as hobbies and social connections, others find themselves unfulfilled, either in the workplace or in keeping occupied. This leads to these groups searching for new avenues for enjoyment, such as new employment or a new hobby. As a result of these combined desires, hobbies with the potential to generate income are preferred. Fields that reduce the barriers via free and public services can draw in these individuals.

Trend - Brands are launching laptops, mini computers, and full-size computer cases without fans to reduce noise. These computers uses passive cooling through various heatsink technologies to lower the active temperature of the components without needing to power fans. The benefit of this technology is silent operation and reduced power consumption at a slightly increased cost.

Insight - Consumers who build DIY computers do so for a variety of reasons. While some customers desire the most performance for the lowest cost, others are willing to pay a premium for unique designs, specific technologies, or quieter operation. On the other hand, workplaces that require each worker to have a computer focus on different metrics, such as cost-effectiveness and operation volume, as running many loud computers would be detrimental to productivity. As such, one common consumer pressure from the business and individual side is volume, placing pressure on PC brands to create solutions for low-noise PCs through various means.

Trend - Users on various social media pages are sharing simplistic, personalizable pasta recipes with cheese as a base. These recipes are accessible enough for any user to join the trend and versatile enough for each content creator to add their own touch to the viral dishes.

Insight - One of the main attractions to food and home cooking is that it brings people together. One evergreen desire for modern consumers is interpersonal connection. People enjoy cooking with their families, friends, and even strangers. When people find breakthroughs or believe strongly in a dish, they take to the internet to share it with others worldwide. These recipes become viral due to a consumer desire for connection and interaction with content creators and other users.

Trend - Brands are launching technology products designed to be upgraded by the end-user. This includes laptops, smartphones, and gaming devices. This reduces manufacturing costs and consumer costs by allowing brands to sell single components at lower prices, instead of completely new devices to users who want upgrades.

Insight - Consumers are increasingly familiar with technology due to the pandemic and the younger generations growing up surrounded by devices. These consumers often repair and upgrade their own products rather than seek help from repair businesses as a cost-saving measure. As a direct result of this, these consumers are drawn to products designed to be opened and repaired. This creates a demand for businesses to sell individual components and products designed to be opened and modified, with a focus on products not as commonly designed to be repairable and upgradable, such as phones or laptops.

Trend - Brands in the 3D-printing space are launching printers and materials that can create complex, durable glass structures. This offers more value to consumers in the space, as many regular printers can now create designer glass structures for jewelry or otherwise without specialty equipment.

Insight - Consumers in the 3D-printing space are drawn to tools and services that enable creativity and streamline the creation process. This includes printers that create higher-quality prints faster, as well as software that enables more precise designing of printed works. This desire extends beyond software and hardware to material works as well, as consumer pressures previously moved the industry toward wood filament printing for sustainability, showing a demand for more printable materials.

Trend - Computer manufacturers are using open-source operating systems (OS) to create more curated experiences for consumers while simultaneously diversifying the OS market. These open-source systems offer benefits that range from streamlined processes and user interfaces to personalization.

Insight - Many consumers that use computers for either entertainment or professional purposes feel that traditional operating systems are difficult to navigate and are cumbersome. Companies are adapting to this pressure by equipping computers with operating systems that are tailored to the desired use case. This leads to developer-focused laptops with coding-focused home pages or gaming computers that launch directly into gaming platforms.