A total of 2,097 shoppers took part in the consumer champion’s DIY survey, telling Which? about which shops had the best range of products, value for money and customer service. 

With a Which? Customer Score of 83 per cent, Screwfix scored highest and was named one of three Which? Recommended Providers (WRPs). The home improvement retailer sells tools, hardware and accessories and got a full five stars for customer service during the buying process as well as four stars for product range and availability, quality of products and value for money. It also got five stars for ease of using its website and app and shoppers rated it highly if something went wrong.

One customer told Which?: “Screwfix is my favourite store all round- fantastic customer service, great range of products, excellent prices and speedy delivery on click and collect. I love shopping there!” Another WRP in the consumer champion’s survey was Brewers (82%), which sells wallpapers, paints and decorating supplies. Brewers got the full five out of five stars for customer service during the buying process and the amount of packaging used for products as well as product range, availability and quality. 

Johnstone’s Decorating Centre (80%), the third WRP and joint third place, sells paint, wood care products, and other tools, and also offers colour advice and technical support. It got a full five stars for its customer service and product quality. 

Coming in joint third was Toolstation (80%), supplier of tools, accessories and home renovation supplies. It was not named a Which? Recommended Provider as its returns policies on faulty goods were not up to scratch but got four or five stars for the categories in the consumer champion’s survey.

Although B&Q (64%) and Wickes (70%) are synonymous with DIY, neither did as well as the WRPs or the other top-rated retailers. B&Q did not get more than three stars for any category while Wickes only got three stars for customer service and five stars in only one category – after sales service and returns. 

Home Bargains (55%), which is not only a DIY store but also sells a variety of products including gardening items, was at the bottom of Which? ‘s table and scored two stars out of five for product range and availability. It also didn’t do well for value for money, getting three stars out of five, despite its name. 

One customer explained: “Products not of high quality- cheap purchase- had to throw away after use.” Another told Which?: “Product was fine. However, Home Bargains does not have a consistent stock of items, and buying is often by chance that an item is available.”

Other retailers near the bottom of Which? ‘s table were Homebase (57%), which went into administration in November, B&M (59%) and The Range (60%). All only picked up two or three stars out of five for every aspect of the shopping experience that Which? asked about.

Reena Sewraz, Which? Retail Editor, said: 

“While the retailers synonymous with DIY only got middling scores, specialist shops came out top showing that customers want simple and fuss-free places to shop. 

“Our findings go to show that, if retailers can deliver great value, quality products and first-class customer service, customers will keep coming back.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

*Researchers asked 2,097 Which? Connect panel members about 4,228 experiences buying DIY and decorating products. Fieldwork carried out in November and December 2024.

Results table

To see the full results for best and worst homeware and furniture stores, see: https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/best-and-worst-shops/article/best-shops/best-home-and-diy-shops-auwlu0o139xJ

About Which?

Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful. The information in this press release is for editorial use by journalists and media outlets only. Any business seeking to reproduce information in this release should contact the Which? Endorsement Scheme team at endorsementscheme@which.co.uk.