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The housing market may not improve this year: That鈥檚 forcing Lowe鈥檚 and Home Depot to push a lot of buttons to find paths to growth.

Home Depot expects sales to grow 2.8% this year: While the housing market is unlikely to thaw, the home improvement retailer sees signs that consumers will stop putting off projects.

Lowe鈥檚 joins Home Depot in warning of sales pressure amid difficult market conditions: The home improvement retailer lowered its FY sales forecast as skyrocketing prices, limited supply, and high borrowing costs weigh on the housing market.

Home Depot. Kohl鈥檚. Lowe鈥檚. Macy鈥檚. Moody鈥檚. Nordstrom. Nordstrom Rack. Placer.ai. Ross. Target. TJX. Walmart. Wayfair.

Despite those challenges, both Home Depot and Lowe鈥檚 raised their full-year outlooks to reflect better-than-expected Q3 results and some further hurricane-related demand in Q4. Home Depot expects total sales to increase by about 4%, up from its previous range of 2.5% to 3.5%.

The broader perspective: Pressure from major retailers like Walmart, Target, and Home Depot has reportedly played a role in the administration鈥檚 shifting stance, with executives warning that current tariffs could lead to price spikes and product shortages.

The Mars survey found that Amazon, Loblaw, and The Home Depot offer CTV integration in Canada. Domestic RMNs provide a wider range of advertising options by tapping into loyalty programs. Loblaw Advance targets nearly 16 million PC Optimum loyalty customers in Canada.

Home improvement and specialty retailers stabilize. The Home Depot reversed a long slide by posting an 0.8% increase in Q4 after eight quarters of negative growth. Smaller projects and maintenance drove demand, while big-ticket renovations remained soft. Gross profit jumped 13.3% YoY, though gross margin declined YoY. Lululemon showed consumers will still pay premium prices for compelling products.

Home improvement retailers have long seized on the allure of sports鈥擫owe鈥檚 is an official partner of the NFL, and Home Depot has a longstanding sponsorship of ESPN鈥檚 鈥淐ollege GameDay.鈥�. Why it matters: Lowe鈥檚 is banking on video games as a path to cultivate digitally native demographics like Gen Z and gather data that will enhance its relationships with these future homeowners and DIYers.

The news: Costco is pressuring its China suppliers to lower prices, the Financial Times reported鈥攋oining the likes of Walmart, Target, and Home Depot looking to shift the tariff burden onto manufacturers.

They also include US subsidiaries of specialty retailers, like The Home Depot and Best Buy. Platform features are expanding, according to a fall 2024 Mars United Commerce survey of RMNs. The company polled six players in the market for the second year running with queries related to targeting, measurement, and available ad inventory.

Among non-grocers, Amazon and Target command 15.2% and 5.6% of SNAP recipients鈥� non-grocery spending, while Home Depot holds a notable 5.5% share鈥攈ighlighting just how far SNAP dollars extend across retail categories. Our take: 鈥淲hen we listen to the voice of our internal customers, we recognize that our SNAP customers are feeling more pressure,鈥� said Albertsons then-COO Susan Morris in April.

Affected retailers include Amazon, Home Depot, Ikea, Ralph Lauren, and Tractor Supply鈥攎eaning price impacts will ripple across a wide swath of consumer goods. The consumer view: Tariffs and inflation are top of mind for many consumers. More than a quarter (26%) of US consumers named 鈥渋nflation/prices鈥� as their most pressing concern; 98% called it 鈥渋mportant,鈥� per a recent Economist/YouGov poll.

The Home Depot also deployed digital twins to optimize store layouts and warehouse flows, achieving an 18% reduction in stockouts and improving checkout and service speed. 4. Modeling pricing and promotions.

That includes the CEOs of Walmart, Target, and Home Depot, who met with President Donald Trump to warn him that tariffs would upend supply chains and lead to higher prices and empty shelves. While that messaging appears to now be resonating with the president, it鈥檚 a concern consumers have been highly aware of for some time.

Despite the rough outlook for home improvement, both Home Depot and Lowe's beat Wall Street's estimates in their most recent quarterly earnings. Key stat: Economy anxiety can't put a lid on luxury shopping. A majority of US consumers (58%) plan to continue spending the same or more on luxury goods in the next three months, according to a January survey from Saks Global.

鈥淪hoppable video, especially with the increasing popularity of CTV, is predicted to be a significant trend in 2025,鈥� said Melanie Babcock, vice president of Orange Apron Media and monetization at The Home Depot. 鈥淭his format allows consumers to buy products directly from video content, providing a convenient and integrated shopping experience.鈥�. Real-world example: Instacart and Roku.

Retailers faced no shortage of challenges in the first half of the year as elevated interest rates, the lingering effects of inflation, and a loosening labor market weighed on consumer spending. In this report, we鈥檒l contextualize our coverage of retailers鈥� Q2 revenues across four key verticals: department stores, home, mass merchants, and off-price.

Existing home sales fell to the lowest level since 1995 last year: Conditions likely won鈥檛 improve much this year, which could spell trouble for housing-related retailers.

鈥淚n 2025, brands are expected to embrace full-funnel strategies that incorporate both on-site and off-site channels,鈥� said Melanie Babcock, vice president of Orange Apron Media and monetization at The Home Depot. 蘑菇AV 1 in 5 (20.9%) US retail media dollars will go to off-site formats this year, up 41.1% over 2024, per our November 2024 forecast.