Consumers bought fewer power tools last year - but when they did, they spent more.
New figures from GfK show that power tools volume went down by 11% in 2012 but that value decreased only marginally, down 2%. And while market conditions were tough some key categories performed well.

In particular, multi-tools remained immensely popular with consumers in 2012, and continued to be the fastest-growing area within power tools. Value grew 13% while volume surged 27%, and with an increasing number of models on the market, the category is shaping up to be highly competitive in 2013.

Cordless hammer drills also had a strong year, growing 7% by value. They are becoming increasingly popular for DIY home improvements and this is reflected through an increase in shelf presence in comparison to other drill types.

Innovations such as lithium-ion battery-powered drills have become increasingly common and this, says GfK, has led to increased prices in the category. It has also helped to offset falling volume, a trend that is common to the wider power tools market.

Meanwhile, the wild bird care market delivered value growth of 1.5% in 2012, according to GfK, despite declines across many of the 19 garden care categories GfK tracks.

However, while this may appear to be a relatively positive performance, GfK points out that October to December 2011 saw a 21% value decline over the same months in 2010. So despite the growth in 2012, the market has not recovered to the same level of value it achieved two years earlier.

Along with this small value growth in 2012, volume sales showed a marginal decline of 1.1% from 2011, largely driven by under-performance in the largest category, bird food. Bird feeders however, achieved both value and volume growth in 2012, and, with the recent snow, GfK predicts that the total bird care category will continue to report positive figures.