These Two Giants Control Nearly Half of Home Improvement Market

It’s no surprise that Home Depot and Lowe’s are the largest retailers in the business, but together, their market share is astounding.

The retail world for home improvement and building products continues to be dominated by two big national chains. It’s the level of that dominance that a new study confirms that shows exactly how big it is. According to the Numerator Home Improvement Tracker, Home Depot’s market share was 28 percent while Lowe’s was at 18 percent, giving them a combined share of 46 percent, almost half of the entire market.

Numerator’s findings are based on omnichannel consumer buying behavior in select home improvement categories. It also found that power tools, purchased by 41.2 percent of American households, and outdoor power equipment, bought by 39 percent of households, were the fastest-growing categories over the past year.

The new research also confirmed that brands still play a big role in product assortments but that private labels are important in a number of categories, including hand tools, lawn and garden, and kitchen and bathroom. Among the key factors driving consumer purchasing patterns were convenient locations (44.2 percent), best prices (41.5 percent) and product selection (34.1 percent).

Numerator did not break out market shares for other retail brands, but local and regional home centers, as well as the two big hardware groups – Ace and True Value – would be expected to be ranked high. Still, with nearly half the market, Depot and Lowe’s continue to be the go-to places for builders, contractors and DIYers.

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