DIY Week has teamed up with retail analyst GfK to launch a new market monitor for the home improvement sector.
To view the barometer click here.

The DIY Week sector barometer uses figures from GfK's RT UK Total Store Report, DIY Panel to track the quarterly sales performance of four key sectors in the DIY market - Emulsion paint, Garden Products, Tools, Kitchens & Bathrooms - as well as the total market value.

DIY Week has indexed the data to 100 as of the third quarter of 2008. All subsequent figures show a rise or fall in relation to this original datum point.

Each sector can be viewed in isolation, along with GfK's latest analysis of that sector, simply click on the relevant tab at the right of the chart.

Comparing performance in the first quarter of 2010 compared with 2009, GfK's Daniel Fearnley said: "The GfK DIY leader market declined by 0.6% Q1 2010 versus Q1 2009. This was despite the tough trading conditions of the key January month and again in February, which as we know were severely impacted by the effects of the arctic weather. March went some way to offset the declines as sales grew by 1.9% on March 2009.

"The main sector winners in the quarter were the big ticket showroom areas where consumers were taking advantage of some fantastic retailer led promotions driving bathroom, kitchen and bedroom sales. Unsurprisingly the garden sector performance was depressed as the weather held off the garden season kick off into the post Easter period."

To view the barometer click here.