Apr 17, 2019

Survey: Confidence is Key for Consumer Outdoor Projects By Tim Hodson

The Home Depot recently commissioned a survey of 1,000 Americans to find out how people use their outdoor spaces — and nearly one-third of them (30%) said they don’t know where to start when it comes to outdoor projects and are seeking inspiration and help.

Whether they’re looking to build a window box planter to feature the plants of their choice, or to increase curb appeal of their homes, they admit they lack confidence and need help to successfully complete many of their outdoor projects.

Confidence is key and having more DIY knowledge is the biggest factor in getting that outdoor project done. This is why the Home Depot continues to offer more in-store DIY workshops — to help them gain the confidence, get started and be successful.

Overall, it is interesting to note that Gen Z and Millennials are among the most confident in this category.

The survey also revealed these motivating factors when it comes to completing outdoor projects.

• Millennials are the age group most interested in keeping up their yards so their kids have a safe place to play, at 32%.
• Those with an outdoor deck spend seven hours a week outside, two more than those who do not. Entertaining, grilling and gardening are their activities of choice.
• Of those who maintain their outdoor spaces primarily for entertaining, Millennials unsurprisingly top the list at 39%, followed by Gen Z (36%).

— Tim

Walmart to Remodel 500 Stores, Open 20 New Locations

Walmart plans to invest $11 billion to remodel 500 stores and open 20 new stores in approximately 25 states. According to Business Insider, the retailer is focusing on the Florida and Texas markets where it plans to spend more than $475 million to remodel 82 existing stores and open 14 new locations. Among the planned changes in the remodeled stores are wider aisles, lower shelving, more self-checkouts, as well as other technology upgrades to enhance the shopper’s in-store experience.

Lowe’s to Eliminate Jobs, Shift Others in North Carolina

Earlier this month, the Charlotte Observer reported that Lowe’s would be making some major moves with many of its employees throughout North Carolina. The home improvement retailer reportedly will eliminate more than 200 jobs at a “cross-dock terminal” warehouse in the Charlotte area as it transitions those jobs to a third-party vendor. The company also plans to move 600 full-time positions from its corporate offices in Wilkesboro to the company’s headquarters in Mooresville. The moves are expected to begin in June and be completed by the end of the year.

Home Depot Turns Up the Volume on Radio Advertising

Spring has sprung when it comes to radio advertising for both Home Depot and Lowe’s. The two home improvement retailers were No. 1 (Home Depot) and number three (Lowe’s when it comes to the total number of radio ads that ran in the second week of April. The broadcasting industry website Radio Ink reported that Home Depot was by far the No. 1 radio advertiser in the country running 85,578 spots last week. Geico Insurance was a distant number two with nearly 46,000 commercials followed by Lowe’s with 38,875.