Home Depot Has the Most Loyal Customers in Home Improvement Retail

Running a successful retailer means executing on the things you can control, while praying the things you can’t work out in your favor.

Home Depot was a winner on both fronts in Q4, when quarterly profits ($2.5 billion) and comparable sales (up 5.2% annually) beat expectations. It even gave investors a surprise gift with purchase—a 10% dividend increase.

What Home Depot can control: “One Home Depot,” the company’s initiative to blend its brick-and-mortar presence with expanded e-comm opps. Last December, Q3 results from the program disappointed...but yesterday’s report showed those multichannel investments are finally paying off.

• And whoever decided to spritz Home Depot stores with the sweet smell of wood shavings deserves a raise. Home Depot has the most loyal customers among all home improvement retailers, per data analytics firm Placer.ai.

What Home Depot can’t control: broader economic patterns that influence shopping behavior. Home Depot’s been blessed with a strong housing market and high consumer confidence levels that rose even further in February.

+ While we’re here: Renovations are still in progress at Lowe’s. Its 2.5% comparable sales bump in Q4 disappointed analysts.