Home Depot
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Headquarters
2455 Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, 30339, Georgia, United States -
Annual Global Sales
$157,403,000,000
Total U.S. Sales
$152.7 billion in fiscal 2023 (ended Jan. 28, 2024)
Total Stores
2,015 in U.S. and territories, 182 in Canada, and 138 in Mexico (as of Jan. 28, 2024)
Shopper Count
22 million weekly
Key Facts
- The largest home improvement retailer in the U.S., capturing 28.1% of market spending in 2023, according to Numerator
- Home Depot has slowed its store growth, focusing instead on driving online sales
- Approximately 45% of online orders are picked up from stores
- Online sales have grown by $1 billion annually for the past six years
- 90% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a Home Depot store
- More than half of its stores have self-service lockers positioned at entrances
- Homedepot.com attracts 2.2 billion visits a year
- Has nearly 200 million individual customers
- Ranked No. 18 on the 2022 Axios Harris Poll 100 reputation ranking
Key Executives
- Chief Executive Officer, President and Chair: Edward "Ted" Decker
- Senior Executive Vice President, U.S., Canada and Mexico Stores: Ann-Marie Campbell
- EVP, Customer Experience: Matt Carey (through Dec. 31, 2024)
- EVP, Customer Experience, & President of Online: Jordan Broggi
- EVP, Supply Chain & Product Development: John Deaton
- EVP, Human Resources: Tim Hourigan
- EVP, Merchandising: William "Billy" Bastek
- Chief Financial Officer & EVP: Richard McPhail
- EVP, U.S. Stores and Operations: Hector Padilla
- EVP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary: Teresa Wynn Roseborough
- EVP & Chief Information Officer: Fahim Siddiqui
- Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer: Molly Battin
- SVP, Technology: Angie Brown
- SVP, Technology: Paul Antony
- SVP, Merchandising, Decor: Jose Barra
- SVP, Merchandising, Hardlines: David Passafiume
- President, Western Division: Chris Berg
- SVP, Culture Officer: Crystal Hanlon
- CEO, HD Supply: Marc Brown
- SVP, Operations: Haydn Chilcott
- SVP, Outside Sales: Chip Devine
- SVP, Human Resources: Arlette Guthrie
- President, Northern Division: Pete Capel
- President, Southern Division: Kelly Mayhall
- President, Mexico: Jose “Pepe” Rodriguez
- President, Canada: Michael Rowe
- SVP, Merchandising, Building Materials: Jim Hovis
- SVP, Global Brand & Product Development: Hua Li
- SVP- Finance, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller: Kimberly R. Scardino
- SVP, Supply Chain: Stephanie Smith
- SVP, Home Services: Tim Wilkerson
- Market Position and Strategy Overview
- Must-Know Terms
- Promotional Strategy
- Merchandising
- Collaborative Alliances
- Displays and Signage
- In-Store Media
- Store Formats/Growth
- Special Departments/Services
- Customer Segments
- Internet Marketing
- Retail Media
- Mobile Marketing
- Social Media
- E-Commerce
- Circulars
- Loyalty Programs
- Private Label
- Cause/Community Programs
- Advertising Strategy
- Solution Providers
- Sponsorships
- Marketing Expenditures
- Metaverse
Market Position and Strategy Overview
Market Position and Strategy Overview
The Home Depot is the largest home-improvement chain in the U.S. with more than 2,300 stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The company employs approximately 463,100 associates.
The retailer sells a wide assortment of building materials, home improvement SKUs, lawn and garden products, decor products, and facilities, maintenance, repair and operations products. It also provides a number of specialized services, including home improvement installation and equipment rental. The average store has approximately 104,000 square feet of enclosed space and 24,000 square feet of outside garden area. Home Depot offers between 30,000 and 40,000 products in stores and more than 1 million products online.
The retailer is adapting and focusing on "building a 'pro ecosystem,' because most pros shop with us," according to Ted Decker, president and CEO for Home Depot. That includes expanded services like a dedicated pro desk, pro brands, a pro loyalty program, more fulfillment options and specific pro-oriented digital assets and trade credit. Those elements should be in place in 17 markets by the end of fiscal 2024. It's connected to a $200 billion investment toward the "complex project" segment of the professional market, Decker added. After opening 13 stores in 2023, Home Depot plans to open about 12 new stores in 2024, and 80 over the next five years, specifically in areas that have experienced strong population growth and/or or where there are voids in the market.
The Home Depot has made several strategic acquisitions in recent years.
In 2024, it acquired SRS Distribution for $18.25 billion. The Texas-based company operates under a family of local brands with more than 760 locations in 47 states, and focuses primarily on distributing roofing materials and serving landscapers and pool contractors. SRS Distribution will continue to operate independently with a focus on expanding Home Depot's pro market presence. The home improvement giant estimates the acquisition will grow its total addressable market to $1 trillion, an increase of $50 billion.
In 2023, Home Depot entered into an agreement to purchase International Designs Group, a platform company that owns and operates Construction Resources and other design-oriented subsidiaries. Construction Resources distributes design-oriented surfaces, appliances and architectural specialty products for professional contractors. The acquisition positions Home Depot to capture a larger share of the $475 billion pro market, through Construction Resources' showroom model, sales force and long-term relationships with renovator, remodeler and residential new-construction pros. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
Other 2023 acquisitions include:
- Temco, an appliance delivery and installation company, and
- Redi Carpet, a next-day flooring installer (acquired through Home Depot subsidiary HD Supply).
The chain’s strategy hinges on connecting emotionally with customers. Having previously gained a reputation as a relatively unfriendly, unhelpful retailer, Home Depot now emphasizes customer service and associate knowledge through all marketing channels. The retailer also is working within a framework it calls “interconnecting retail,” which emphasizes customer experience, product authority and productivity. (See Store Formats/Growth.) It's also continuing to invest in enhanced compensation for its front-line associates in an effort to curb attrition and ultimately boost customer satisfaction.
A slew of exclusive and private-label products help differentiate the retailer from its main competitor, Lowe’s. Home Depot also is focused more on the male DIYer and on professional customers than its channel rival.
Must-Know Terms
Must-Know Terms
- Interconnected Retail: Home Depot’s strategy of emphasizing customer service to respond to changing customer needs and expectations in order to provide a frictionless experience in stores, online, on job sites or in customers' homes. The strategy ties together the three legs of the retailer’s operating platform: the customer experience, product authority and productivity.
- DIFM (Do-it-for-me): A main customer segment that purchases products and hires contractors to install them.
- Merchandising Action Planner: A quarterly booklet distributed by corporate that details monthly merchandising planograms. Plans vary by division.
Thought Starters
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Don’t neglect digital investments; the retailer is heavily focused on driving e-commerce sales.
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The retailer works to present a localized assortment, so explain how your products fit into specific markets.
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Home Depot wants to inspire shoppers in the aisles, so propose creative merchandising solutions that showcase a product as part of a project.
Promotional Strategy
Promotional Strategy
The Home Depot traditionally uses an everyday low price (EDLP) approach to promote its products, but it also uses circulars and digital ads to focus on sale items and special deals. These are especially heavy in the spring, considered the channel’s biggest season.
The retailer has lowered prices on approximately 1,000 products to maintain its EDLP strategy. It also employs a price-match program, pledging to beat the lower price of identical, in-stock items from local retailers by 10%.
It focuses on making consumers comfortable working on their own projects by positioning itself as a one-stop shop for information, guidance and materials. Its programs typically suggest do-it-yourself projects and provide home improvement inspiration.
Ongoing programs include:
- Garden Club: Periodic emails offer advice and deals. An opt-in mobile component sends up to 10 texts per month containing the same offers and tips.
- Special Buy of the Day: A daily email spotlighting a discount on an SKU. The discounts are also promoted on the retailer's home page.
- Style Challenge: Multiple times a year, the retailer enlists bloggers for DIY projects (generally in a seasonal theme) using national and private label products. The bloggers record the process on Home Depot’s blog.
- New Lower Price: The logo is often found on in-store displays and signs highlighting a new lower price on products. Qualifying products are also grouped together for e-commerce purchases.
- Workshops: Virtual workshops are held frequently, and cover DIY projects, home maintenance, seasonal (to keep home and family safe during storms and fires), and activities for kids. Some workshops can be viewed on demand. Some children's workshops are held in-store.
- Spring Black Friday: Nearly a month of savings offered every April, with deals on spring home improvement essentials ranging from plants to outdoor power equipment, to help people get their homes ready for warmer weather.
Merchandising
Home Depot for many years divided its products into 14 departments (see charts above), but has now upped that number to 16.
Electrical/Lighting has been split into two categories, as has Kitchen/Bath. Outdoor power equipment previously was included with Indoor Garden, but now it's been moved to the Tools department.
The latter move is designed to maximize the strength of the retailer's battery-powered platforms. Home Depot estimates there are nearly 500 million batteries in the current market, and the retailer's assortment covers the majority. According to Home Depot, more than 70% of batteries are from brands exclusive to the retailer, within the big box channel.
Collaborative Alliances
Collaborative Alliances
Home Depot stresses that all of its suppliers must serve as “the customer’s advocate for value.” To achieve this on a consistent basis, the chain has created data tools designed to help vendors better forecast sales and replenish assortments faster through the company’s centralized, automated replenishment system.
The retailer operates a supplier diversity program on its website, designed to allow new vendors to engage buyers directly through an online portal. The registration page promises access to the appropriate buyer within 72 hours and the buyer’s response within 60 days. The portal allows vendors to upload a profile that includes photos, catalog links, service licenses, records and tailored presentations.
Because it focuses on its exclusive brands and private labels, the retailer generally does not work with national brands for campaigns, though it does happen occasionally. The retailer teamed with commercial cleaning company Ecolab to launch an exclusive product line geared toward both professional and DIY customers. The retailer has joined with Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. for bulk-purchase incentives and endcap displays in the past. Procter & Gamble has partnered with the retailer to create promotional websites supporting seasonal programs and send periodic emails to its P&G Everyday community promoting Home Depot-specific offers. The vendor regularly receives endcap displays as well.
The Home Depot maintains a supplier hub at supplierhub.homedepot.com where it hosts information on becoming a supplier, a new product submission portal, and details on the retailer's supplier diversity program.
Displays and Signage
Displays & Signage
The Home Depot makes extensive use of dump bins, floorstands, pallet displays and stanchion signs. It also regularly uses banners and endcap headers. All of the signage is in both English and Spanish.
The top-most section of bays is considered a non-selling area and is used for stock or display space.
Labels and tags come in various sizes and shapes.
Many product displays feature product fact cards attached to highlight key features along with the price.
The company allows vendors to use video displays in key areas, typically endcaps, to explain products and offer how-to instructions.
The retailer is relatively receptive to vendor-supplied floorstands or case stacks. It nearly always attaches a Home Depot header to any manufacturer-supplied displays.
In Smyrna, GA, the retailer also operates an 88,000-square-foot Innovation Center, designed like a typical Home Depot, where it tests displays for both national brands and private labels before moving them to stores.
Home Depot | |
Best Bets Brands that secure power-aisle endcaps get a lot of leeway to create unique vignettes; Like Lowe's, HD now looking for "New Innovation." | |
Merchandisers | |
Endcap Displays | Sometimes Used |
Shelf Trays/PDQs | Sometimes Used |
Pallets | Often Used |
Floorstands/Shippers | Often Used |
Dump Bins | Sometimes Used |
Power Wings/Sidekicks | Often Used |
Category Management Systems | Often Used |
Spectaculars/Lobby Displays | Sometimes Used |
Racks | Sometimes Used |
Secondary Refrigerated Displays | Sometimes Used |
Signage/Media | |
A-Boards | Sometimes Used |
Balloons | Rarely Used |
Base Wrap | Often Used |
Ceiling Banners/Signage | Sometimes Used |
Checkout Ads | Sometimes Used |
Checkout Dividers/Separators | Rarely Used |
Circular Rack Ads | Rarely Used |
Cooler Clings | Rarely Used |
Counter Cards | Sometimes Used |
Demonstration/Sampling Kits | Rarely Used |
Digital Signage Ads | Sometimes Used |
Endcap Signage Kits | Often Used |
Floor Clings | Rarely Used |
Header Cards | Often Used |
At-shelf Product Demo/Sample | Sometimes Used |
In-line/Category Headers | Often Used |
In-Store Radio | Rarely Used |
Inflatables | Rarely Used |
Outdoor Signage | Sometimes Used |
Neckhangers | Rarely Used |
New Item Showcases | Sometimes Used |
Pole Toppers | Sometimes Used |
Printed Materials/Handouts | Sometimes Used |
Placeholders, On-shelf | Rarely Used |
Price-label Messaging | Sometimes Used |
Security Pedestal Ads | Rarely Used |
Shelf Blockers | Rarely Used |
Shelf Strips | Rarely Used |
Shelf Talkers | Often Used |
Shelf Danglers/Wobblers | Sometimes Used |
Shopping Cart Ads | Rarely Used |
Side Panels | Sometimes Used |
Standees | Often Used |
Take-one Dispensers | Rarely Used |
Tearpads | Sometimes Used |
Stanchion Signs | Often Used |
Wall Banners | Sometimes Used |
Window Clings | Sometimes Used |
Window Posters | Sometimes Used |
Violators | Often Used |
In-Store Media
In-Store Media
In-Store Appliance Finder is an interactive kiosk from Sapient’s SapientNitro, Boston, that extends the aisle to appliances not carried in stores.
Store Formats/Growth
Store Formats/Growth
Home Depot stores have a warehouse feel, stacking products high and keeping aisles clean.
Stores use a racetrack layout. The garden center is on one end, typically away from building materials. The Pro Desk (See “Special Departments and Services”) is located near the main exit door, separating it from the main entrance and checkout stations.
The Home Depot for a time made a concerted effort to slow store openings and, instead, devote attention to its e-commerce and mobile business. As a result, no new stores were opened from 2013 through 2016 in the U.S. Recent store openings include:
- 2023: eight new stores in the U.S., and five in Mexico
- 2022: two new U.S. stores and four in Mexico
- 2021: five new U.S. stores, two in Mexico
For 2024, The Home Depot plans to open 12 stores.
Its stores remain the hub of its business, and Home Depot continues to invest in enhancing the customer shopping experience through easier navigation, increased convenience and improved checkout speed. In 2023 the retailer invested in:
- Wayfinding signage and store refresh packages;
- Self-service lockers, online order storage areas and curbside service to enable convenient online order pickup options;
- The re-design of front-end areas, including reconfigured service desks, improved layouts in checkout areas, and expanded self-checkout options, and
- Electronic shelf label capabilities.
The retailer continues to focus on catering to pros and streamline its online order management processes.
Additionally, Home Depot operates a Pro store outside San Francisco dedicated to home improvement professionals, where employees sport black aprons instead of orange, aisles are larger, and the product assortment is geared toward professionals versus DIYers.
Special Departments/Services
Special Departments/Services
Each store has a Pro Desk staffed with dedicated employees to help professional contractors secure:
- custom built orders,
- financing options,
- discounts and rewards, and
- curbside pick up or direct-to-site delivery.
The retailer runs a tool rental center, where consumers can rent tools and equipment, such as carpet cleaners, jackhammers and ladders. The department also offers in-store and at-home tool repair.
Some locations rent Home Depot pickup trucks or Penske moving trucks.
The retailer also offers services for non-professional customers. These include:
- floor, wall elevation and ceiling measurements;
- on-site digital floor plans;
- on-site hazard inspection;
- retail inspections for site conditions, signage and display locations;
- retail damage inspections;
- holiday lighting installation;
- home improvement and appliance installations through local contractors.
Periodic workshops offer three types of how-to programs: Do-It Yourself, Do-It-Herself and Kids. Do-It-Herself programs skew towards gardening and decorating.
Stores contain kiosks than allows shoppers to sign up for Foster City, CA-based Redbeacon, a service that connects consumers who have specific questions and projects with pre-screened contractors. The service is available online or via Redbeacon’s mobile application as well.
Customer Segments
Customer Segments
Home Depot does not segment consumers by age, gender or race, but rather by purchase behavior and need. It focuses on consumer behavior rather than consumer identity. However, the retailer tends to market more toward men than women.
Home Depot stores service three primary consumer groups:
- Do-it-yourself: Shoppers who buy products and perform their own installations.
- Do-it-for-me: Customers who purchase products and hire contractors to install the items. Home Depot taps into this market by offering installation services in a number of categories. These services can be purchased in-store, online or through in-home consultations.
- Professional: These are remodelers, general contractors, repairmen, small-business owners, building maintenance crews and small custom builders. They are offered delivery and will-call services, a dedicated staff, expanded credit programs, designated parking spaces and other perks. Professionals account for only 3% of total customers but about 40% of total sales.
The retailer works to both help professionals do their jobs cost effectively and efficiently, and empower home remodelers and DIYers to build with confidence.
Internet Marketing
Internet Marketing Strategy
The Home Depot’s website is dynamic and its homepage layout frequently changes during promotions.
The retailer continues to focus on improving the digital experience, making it easier for customers to research products, check available inventory, access ratings and reviews, compare prices, and browse extended assortments. It also is making "shoppability" of online products easier by including more information on product landing pages (including related SKUs and/or parts of a collection) and fulfillment options.
The retailer has native ads or sponsored content, with brands represented throughout. Display advertising for national brands is available within each department’s pullout, vertical category menu. Many department landing pages also have leaderboard ads that spotlight national brands.
Notable sections of homedepot.com include:
- Specials & Offers: A web page that collects all current deals in one space, organized by product category.
- DIY: The dropdown menu directs users to pages for "How-To Projects & Ideas," "Project Calculators," "Free Workshops," and "All DIY Projects & Ideas." The pages contain relevant videos, how-to guides, tips and tricks, and, within the Appliance Upgrades page, a forum where consumers can pose questions and receive advice from "Home Depot Experts" or fellow DIYers.
- Installation & Services: A page that details all of the retailer's home installation and repair services.
A "Shop All" drop-down menu lets users explore by savings opportunities, department, room, home decor and furniture, and gift cards.
The website is powered by intent search, which considers a number of factors such as regional differences ("weed whacker" vs. "string trimmer"), past searches, and personalized recommendations when populating search results.
Homedepot.com also has a "Pro Xtra" web page and microsite dedicated to professional and contractor services. The microsite allows Pro Xtra members to track money spent on purchases and Pro Xtra Paint Rewards. On the page, a "Pro Special Buy of the Week" is advertised and a "Pro Local Ad" display ad directs users to the retailer's online circular for professionals, which spotlight weekly promotions and savings on national brand or private label SKUs.
Additionally, the retailer regularly creates microsites that focus on gifts or seasonal project ideas. For 2023, Home Depot introduced a Countdown to Spring hub with new product categories, themes, inspirations and project guides.
In 2024, the retailer launchd a moving hub — www.militarymoving.com — designed to help military families who are relocating. The site is designed to be a one-stop shop, offering tips on saving time and money, a downloadable permanent change of station (PCS) checklist, and links to moving truck rentals, boxes, decor, cleaning materials and more. Plus, military get a discount when they shop.
It also launched a New Homeowners Hub to provide current and future first-time homeowners with a number of resources, including:
- DIY guides
- Product recommendations
- Virtual workshops
- Design inspirations
Both livestream and on-demand content is on the homeowner hub, at zero cost.
Beyond its main website, the Home Depot operates a website for Pro Referral (proreferral.com), a third-party service that connects consumers to professionals. Pro Referral was formerly known as Redbeacon.
Daily opt-in emails present consumers with a “Special Buy of the Day” for a national brand or private label product. Additional emails, generally sent on Wednesdays and Thursdays, alert consumers when the new circular is available and link to the digital version. Emails support sale events as well, such as Black Friday and Spring Black Friday. (See Calendar.)
In time for Mother's Day, the retailer holds an online-only Decor Days sales event, with savings on home and decor items that include furniture, lighting, rugs, wall art, kitchen tools and more.
Retail Media
Retail Media
Home Depot launched its media network, Retail Media+, in 2019. (In 2024, it rebranded, becoming Orange Apron Media, at the same time partnering with Univision to unlock more media placement opportunities and create new in-store display ads.)
Retail Media+ network boasts it could help marketers reach the retailer's 45 million customer households through solutions such as:
- Offsite advertising: Brands can reach shoppers who have visited their product pages on HomeDepot.com through targeted ads on social media and other offsite channels.
- Onsite advertising: Advertising opportunities on the retailer's website include sponsored product ads and top of page banners.
- Email advertising: Ad placement in the retailer's weekly promotions email.
The network's "Content Lab" can also help brands with online product content and photography, helping them create content such as product information page imagery, demo videos and copy.
In 2023, Home Depot partnered with electronics company Vizio to develop shoppable content. The series, called "Merry & Bright," was hosted by "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks. It included 15- and 30-second ads as well as 10-minute episodes filled with holiday tips and tricks. Viewers could access QR codes that took them to a Shop the Look page on Home Depot's website.
Trends Report
For the past five years, brand marketers asked to rate various retail media platforms for the Path to Purchase Institute’s annual Trends Report. In the 2024 survey, The Home Depot's Retail Media+ has some work to do, especially with the data sharing and creative freedom categories. (Because the number of respondents was small, the results should be interpreted with caution.) (See chart below.)
Mobile Marketing
Social Media
Social Media Strategy
Facebook: 5.7 million followers (as of April 2023)
The retailer posts nearly every day with how-tos, news on initiatives (like Earth Day and energy-efficient products), collaborations, and seasonal products and sales like Spring Black Friday. (See Calendar.) A “Shop on Website” button directs shoppers to homedepot.com while a “Shop” tab allows shoppers to scroll through specific products directly from Facebook.
Twitter: 44.2K followers (as of April 2023)
Many of the retailer's tweets mimic updates from the retailer’s Facebook page. The retailer also uses the platform to share how-to videos, before-and-after projects, new products and initiatives.
Pinterest: 3 million followers (as of April 2023)
The boards are arranged by product category, occasions ("All Things Orange") and season, how-to instructions and other themes and link to homedepot.com and company blogs.
Instagram: 1.3 million followers (as of April 2023)
Activity mirrors Facebook as well as posts depicting items, such as home decor and furnishings.
YouTube: 524K subscribers (as of April 2023)
The majority of the content on the retailer’s account mainly consists of brand-agnostic how-to and home decor videos. The channel releases a few videos a month. A Spanish-language channel (The Home Depot Espanol) has 290K subscribers and offers content similar to the English version but is not updated as regularly.
TikTok: 118.9K followers (as of April 2023)
Content heavily mirrors that of Facebook and also includes videos from influencers doing projects featuring Home Depot products and before-and-afters.
E-Commerce
E-Commerce Strategy
Home Depot has made it a priority to develop its online business in recent years. As a result, Home Depot is now one of the largest e-commerce retailers in the U.S., having grown its online sales from $500 million in 2009 to $10 billion in 2019. In its third quarter in 2020, which ended Nov. 1, 2020, the retailer reported its digital sales rose 80% percent year over year. About 60% of Home Depot’s online orders are currently picked up at a physical location. In 2023, online sales represented 14.8% of net sales and increased 1.1% from 2022 to 2023.
The goal is to increase the number of consumers who:
- buy online and pick up products in the store (BOPIS),
- buy online and have products shipped to stores for later pickup (BOSS),
- rent online, pick-up in store (ROPIS),
- or return products to the stores if needed.
To support the BOPIS and BOSS programs, customer-service training now includes sessions called “Customer FIRST for the Interconnected Customer.” It emphasizes the importance of quick customer pickup of merchandise. To support this initiative, the chain’s mobile handheld devices used by associates were programmed to complete BOPIS and BOSS transactions from anywhere in the store.
Department Performance Report
Data platform Analytic Index compiles Department Performance Reports on The Home Depot and other retailers. providing a holistic overview of major departments and information about sales, sponsored search, and organic search for each. To view a specific month's report, click on the link below:
Home Depot views its online program as interconnected with its traditional stores, emphasizing its online ordering programs to suit consumer needs. It considers the entire process to be “interconnected retail” and has become one of its key strategic priorities.
The Home Depot in 2017 closed a deal to acquire e-tailer The Company Store from Weehawken, New Jersey-based Hanover Direct to expand its online home decor business. The Company Store sells a variety of home decor, textiles, apparel, pet accessories and furniture via thecompanystore.com. The acquisition does not include The Company Store's five brick-and-mortar locations (three in Wisconsin and one each in Kittery, Maine, and Mebane, North Carolina).
The retailer also acquired blinds.com, an online windows-covering supplier, in 2014. The acquisition included an experienced call center that answers questions and takes product orders.
The retailer offers about 1 million products through homedepot.com, many more than the average 35,000 available in stores.
As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Home Depot stood up a curbside pickup program in early 2020. The retailer has since fulfilled millions of orders, and now at least one in four online orders are picked up curbside.
Beginning in 2017, Home Depot began investing heavily in its supply chain, with a goal to reach 90% of the U.S. population with same- or next-day delivery, opening more than 100 facilities over the next five years to accomplish that. It also brought appliance delivery in-house instead of using a third-party provider, helped via its purchase of appliance delivery and installation company Temco. After expanding its supply chain footprint in response to COVID-19-era demands, the retailer is dialing back excess warehouse capacity as sales have slowed. Forecasting demand, managing labor processes, and utilizing technology and robotics are part of its plans to streamline the fulfillment process.
In 2024, The Home Depot plans to open four new distribution centers, growing its pro ecosystem to Detroit, southern Los Angeles, San Antonio and Toronto. The new facilities are part of the retailer's strategy to better serve pro customers – both the pro customers that it serves in-store and the pros working on larger, more complex projects. By the end of 2024 it expects to have 17 of its key pro markets served by the new supply chain facilities, which offer:
- localized product assortments,
- specialized sales teams,
- digital tools and personalized experiences in the form of new order management capabilities,
- trade credit (currently in pilot mode), and
- tiered pro pricing.
The Home Depot also has a partnership with Instacart. The delivery platform provider is offering same-day delivery — in some cases in less than an hour — from nearly 2,000 Home Depot locations across the United States. The service includes Instacart's Big & Bulky option, fulfilling orders on large items up to 60 pounds.
Home Depot also has a partnership with Walmart's white-label GoLocal delivery service.
Circulars
Circulars and Publications
Circulars drop on Wednesdays with sale dates that run Thursday-Wednesday. Depending on the week and season, their length runs from four to 16 pages.
National brands are featured both individually and as part of broader category events. Featured products and even circular formats vary by region.
Tabs generally spotlight large appliances on the cover. During seasonal programs, the covers have corresponding themes such as holiday decor in the winter. Featured categories vary weekly and widely, so a tab may be dedicated entirely to refrigerators or it may spotlight lawn & garden, power tools, paint and bath supplies.
Products are regularly identified as participating in such Home Depot programs as the Eco Options environmental effort. (See “Internet Marketing Strategy.”) Icons also identify products as a “Special Buy,” a limited-time discount, or having a “New Lower Price,” a permanent discount.
The digital circular links users to products in the e-commerce area of homedepot.com.
Catalogs are accessible online, and feature themes like flooring and tile trends or seasonal decor and projects. The Home Depot Pro circular features products for DIY types and professionals. Publications include how-to advice and are shoppable.
Loyalty Programs
Loyalty Programs
Home Depot does not offer a general consumer loyalty card program, but professional customers can join Pro Xtra, a loyalty program that provides discounts on business services, exclusive product offers, e-receipts, a purchase-tracking tool to enable receipt lookup online, discounted business tools and job tracking of purchases across all forms of payment.
In January 2023, Home Depot unveiled new Pro Xtra membership tiers — Member, Elite and VIP — and new rewards. Dollars spent count toward rewards and allow members to unlock more benefits
The retailer also offers private-label credit cards. In 2013, approximately 2.8 million new credit accounts were opened, bringing the total to approximately 11 million. The cards accounted for approximately 23% of sales in fiscal 2013. The “Consumer Credit Card” and “Project Loan” cards offer special financing. The consumer card provides customers with six months of no interest with minimum payment on purchases over $299, while the Project Loan card provides six months of interest-only purchase windows. Two commercial credit cards provide PO tracking, itemized billing by job name and online account management. The “Commercial Revolving” card has low monthly payments, while the “Commercial Account” requires payment in full each month.
Private Label
Private Label
Home Depot offers a variety of private labels to differentiate its offerings from competitors (mainly Lowe’s). These products, along with its exclusive products, receive prominent display space in stores, online and in circulars.
Private labels include:
- CE Tech: audio-visual accessories
- The Company Store: bed and bath linens
- Defiant: door hardware (locks, knobs and handles) and home security
- EcoSmart: lighting
- Hampton Bay: lighting, fans and lamps; patio sets and accessories; kitchen cabinets
- Home Accent Holiday: holiday and seasonal decor for interiors and exteriors
- Home Decorators Collection: flooring, lighting and ceiling fans; pillows, bedding and curtains; furniture, home furnishings and bath vanities
- Hubspace: smart tech compatible with various Home Depot brands as well as Alexa and Google
- Husky: hand tools, tool storage, work benches
- Lifeproof: flooring including carpet
Exclusive brands include:
- Behr: paint
- Commercial Electric: commercial electric lighting and tools
- Everbilt: hardware fasteners, plumbing basics, closet organization
- Glacier Bay: bath fixtures and toilets; kitchen fixtures
- HDX: tools, hardware, storage and cleaning products
- Ridgid: power tools
- Ryobi: power tools and tool storage and accessories
- StyleWell: home decor and furniture
- TrafficMaster: flooring and flooring supplies
- Vigoro: lawn care and garden supplies
- Vissani: small and large appliances
Cause/Community Programs
Cause/Community Programs
The Home Depot Foundation is focused on improving the homes and lives of U.S. veterans, training skilled tradespeople and helping communities affected by natural disasters. The retailer has pledged to spend half a billion dollars on veterans causes by 2025 and to spend $50 million to train 20,000 people for careers in the home improvement industry by 2028. Community Impact Grants provide up to $5,000 awards to nonprofits focused on using volunteers to improve the community while the Veteran Housing Grants Program provides awards of $100,000 to $500,000 to nonprofits that build or rehab housing for veterans. The Foundation spent $3.4 million in 2019 helping areas affected by fires, hurricanes and flooding by working with nonprofits such as the American Red Cross and Convoy of Hope.
In 2024, the Home Depot Foundation granted $1 million to its veteran-led disaster response partner Team Rubicon to help it fund the TRades Academy, a trades training program.
Retool Your School
The Home Depot launched this program in 2009. It provides career development opportunities such as internships, externships and scholarships and helps fund campus improvement grants at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In 2024, The Home Depot expected to surpass $10 million in financial support for Retool Your School initiatives.
Shop My Exchange
The Home Depot partnered with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service to make major appliance purchases tax-free to eligible active-duty service members, dependents, retirees, Department of Defense civilians and retirees, and honorably discharged veterans via the retailer's branded online page at ShopMyExchange.com. The Home Depot will also fulfill appliance orders made through the Exchange and manage deliveries and installation.
Major appliance showrooms from The Home Depot are also launching at five post exchanges and base exchanges in Georgia, Texas, and Oklahoma, with plans to open more than 60 appliance showrooms across the United States.
Sustainability
The retailer aims to reduce its environmental impact by producing or procuring enough renewable energy to power all its stores by 2030.
In early 2023, Home Depot had rooftop solar farms on more than 80 stores and electricity-generating fuel cells in more than 200 stores. That same year, the retailer teamed with DSD Renewables to begin installing panels that would generate 13 megawatts of solar power at 25 California stores.
Advertising Strategy
Advertising Strategy
Tagline: "How doers get more done" (formerly "More Saving. More Doing.")
Primary Media: online display, radio, opt-in emails, TV spots, FSIs, online video, magazines
Many of the retailer’s advertisements use a variation of the secondary tagline, “Let’s do this,” as well. Ads — especially TV spots — generally focus on empowering consumers to get projects done themselves either through confidence-building messages or an emphasis on the help and guidance available from store employees. The retailer presents itself as a one-stop-shop for both information and materials.
Online display ads are the most common type of advertising employed by Home Depot. The ads run on consumer facing websites such as those of local news stations; about 18% are cooperative. Nearly all digital and print ads are strongly branded with the retailer’s signature orange.
Home Depot is a major radio advertiser, running nearly four times the local radio spots as its biggest competitor, Lowe’s.
Although it is devoting more attention to online sales, Home Depot still uses traditional media to promote its messages, especially in the spring and summer when most home-improvement projects are done.
Recently the retailer has been evolving its marketing to feel more authentic, trying a new long-form storytelling strategy when it debuted a documentary-style, 17-minute film in January 2023 highlighting the behind-the-scenes role it has played in recent decades in helping communities hit by natural disasters. In the spring of 2022, actual shoppers starred in a campaign highlighting early risers that arrive at stores before the 6 a.m. opening.
Solution Providers
Solution Providers
- U.S. Media Agency of Record (Digital & Traditional Media Buying & Planning): The Omnicom Media Group, New York
- U.S. Creative Agency of Record: BBDO Worldwide, New York
- Mobile Advertising: Crisp Media, New York
- POP Displays: TPH Global Solutions, Skokie, Illinois
- Online and Offline Data: Adobe, San Jose, California
- Price/promotion optimization: Revionics, Austin, Texas
- Real-Time Store Operations: Reflexis Systems Inc. (a part of Zebra Technologies), Dedham, Massachusetts
- Retail Media Network: Home Depot's "Retail Media+" network is open for applications from their vendors to take part in one of three options: dynamic media, commerce marketing and multimedia support.
Sponsorships
Sponsorships
The Home Depot sponsors a number of programs and events, which visibly promote its square, orange logo in key positions. Most of these are related to sports that reach a wide range of key demographics.
The Home Depot in March 2024 became an official corporate partner of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). The three-year partnership gives the retailer rights across all 90 NCAA championships, including the women's and men's Division 1 basketball tournaments. Prior to tip-off, Home Depot is launching "How to March Madness," a campaign featuring the retailer's associates and basketball's Shaquille O'Neal, as they offer "Tips from the Tool Shaq" with a basketball twist to help people get their spring projects done. The campaign includes linear TV ads, digital and social content, integrations and experiential activations.
The partnership includes CBS Sports and TNT Sports, and builds on The Home Depot's connection to college sports, which includes a 26-year association with CBS Sports' college football coverage, a 22-season College GameDay partnership (see below) and sponsorships of all four major Historically Black Colleges and Universities sports conferences.
Other sponsorship activity includes:
- ESPN’s “College GameDay”: The cable TV program visits a different campus each week during the college football season and constructs a set branded with Home Depot’s logo; additional support comes through on-air and site branding, as well as exposure on espn.com, the Corso Challenge mobile app game, ESPN Radio, ESPN Wireless, ESPN Podcenter, ESPN The Magazine and the annual the Home Depot College Football Awards. The retailer does not sponsor the basketball version of the program.
- Mexican National Team soccer team: Home Depot is the team’s “Official Home Improvement Sponsor.”
- Major League Soccer teams: New York Red Bulls, Los Angeles Galaxy, Seattle Sounders FC, Houston Dynamo and Chivas USA.
- The Home Depot has partnered with This Old House Ventures to offer advice and inspiration since 2003.
Marketing Expenditures
Marketing Expenditures
For The Home Depot, advertising costs, which include digital, television, radio and print, are expensed when the advertisement first runs. Some co-op advertising allowances — namely, reimbursements of specific, incremental and identifiable costs incurred to promote vendors’ products — are recorded as an offset against advertising expense.
Home Depot's net advertising expenses included in SG&A were as follows:
- 2023: $1.1 billion
- 2022: $1.1 billion
- 2021: $1.0 billion
In fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018, gross advertising expenses were $1.2 billion, $1.19 billion and $1.16 billion, respectively.