National retailer Wickes says it has seen customer spending on bathroom products increase by more than 80% over the last three years.
This was one of the findings of Wickes’ recently released Great Bathroom Report, which aimed to examine consumer trends around bathroom designs and renovations.
Wickes found that the typical UK consumer is willing to spend an average of £3,978 on their new bathroom, With one-in-four saying they’d be willing to pay more than £5,000 for a bathroom renovation.
In terms of bathroom design trends, Wickes has boldly proclaimed that UK consumers are primarily looking to bathrooms of bygone decades for their inspiration. According to Wickes, when it polled customers aged 18-34, almost 30% said that the colour they’d most like to use in their next bathroom renovation is the much-reviled avocado, a shade that is widely considered to be characteristic of the 1970s.
However, there appears to be a generational divide on avocado bathrooms, as fewer than one-in-20 consumers aged 55 and over – the generation that experienced the trend in its heyday – said they’d want to use the colour in their own bathrooms.
Wickes identified other retro trends making a comeback, such as panelling and texture, which were other big trends from the 1970s. Colour palettes such as pale blues, pinks and yellows are also said to be making a return, all of which were popular pastel shades in the 1950s and 60s.
The national retailer also reported that the trend for chrome taps and fittings is starting to wane. Instead, Wickes says, customer are now far more likely to choose fixtures in colours of bronze, black and brass. In fact, Wickes said that 70% of the fixtures it sells to consumers are no longer chrome.
A quarter of Wickes customers reportedly also felt that lighting was one of the most important elements of their bathroom renovations. Wickes says that a single overhead light is now less popular, and is making way for spotlights, backlit mirrors and dimmer switches.
Looking at the ways that consumers use bathrooms, one-in-three homeowners said that their bathroom’s most important purpose was to serve as a place to unwind and relax. Interestingly, this number increases to six-in-ten (58%) when polling just the 18-24-year-old demographic. Wickes suggests that this might be because this generation of consumer has been “raised on TikTok’s beauty trends”.
When looking specifically at customers aged 45 and older, they reported that they want their bathrooms to feature a combination of relaxation and practicality. They identified “cleaning” as a key priority, with four-in-ten homeowners in this demographic reporting that ease of cleaning was their most important priority when choosing new bathroom products. Amongst customers aged 65+, the single main consideration of a new bathroom reported by a third of customers was “practicality”.
Finally, Wickes said that the most popular bathroom product that customers wanted in 2024 is a walk-in shower. It reportedly takes the “must have” top spot in a landslide, as six-in-ten customers said it was their most desirable feature for a new bathroom.
In other recent news, Wickes also released its half-yearly financial results earlier this month, saying it had experienced a considerable drop in its design and install orders, blaming the current “tough” market.
