Where They Buy - Home Depot, Lowe's Or Menards

As of the writing of this text, the trends area unit important once homemade customers tell North American nation wherever they look and wherever they really create their purchases particularly for larger price tag things relative to Home Depot, Lowes outlet stores locator and Menards.

Menards, a family closely-held geographic region chain of huge Box stores, continues to possess the very best quantitative relation of these customers UN agency indicate they not solely look the shop, however additionally truly purchase the things they shopped for.

When the opposite 2 giants in huge Box building materials retail, with additional of a nationwide presence, customers area unit studied, it's clear Lowe's is that the place shopped and residential Depot is that the purchase venue.

These trends were 1st uncovered concerning eight years agone, and appear to be holding within the same trend additional recently.

There may be variety of reasons for the symptoms, however bestowed area unit a glimpse of this author's newer on-the-spot, in-store observations. Actual product estimate acquisition and retailers were conducted for this method within the departments listed. All opinions expressed area unit those entirely of this scientist and not statistically relevant, since not each location of every distributer was shopped. But, during this researcher's opinion, the retailers any solid the quantitative, statistically relevant trends gathered in previous studies. retailers were conducted from coast to coast over the past nine months.

1) the amount of in-store client service is higher in several visited Lowe's locations than within the same visited town Home Depot locations. once visiting those cities with all three retailers, together with Menards, the individuals utilized by Menards, particularly in lumber and different building materials employed in construction, were easier to seek out, additional useful and easier to raise queries of than each Home Depot and Lowe's. Wait times for facilitate during this class were additional favorable at Menards. Technical queries were answered additional times properly at Menards, then Lowe's, then Home Depot within the structural building materials class of products.

2) selling and in-door procurance of structural building materials was higher at Lowe's than either Home Depot or Menards, during this researcher's opinion. Adjacent displays for marketing and finding connected required things to accompany the most purchase class was best at Lowe's, worse reception Depot. The self serve yard at Menards for lumber and structural building materials is cumbersome, and therefore the layout continues to be confusing.

3) once it came to planning decks and activity material lists to customers, there perceived to be less facilitate at Menards, however the method in any respect three retailers was cumbersome, even with deck planning software system - used directly by customers and / or provided by in-store personnel. during this researcher's opinion, the notion of parents creating appointments to style decks or feat construction lists behind and solely being given a lump-sum value annoys potential customers.

4) within the carpentry space, Home Depot and Lowe's area unit similar in facilitate and understanding of the customer's desires, but Home Depot appears to answer direct technical queries and perceive lay out and style slightly higher than Lowe's. Menards during this class appears to lag, each from AN assortment and a "friendly, we are able to facilitate you" position. Few designers were aware of gas off gassing specifically because it associated with their lines of carpentry.

5) the foremost knowledgeable sales associates for doors and windows area unit at Menards, then Lowe's, then Home Depot store locator. several technical queries were incorrectly answered by all 3 retailers at each store visited. Fenestration is a region wherever all 3 may use some coaching. solely in-stock or displayed things were tested during this class.

As a part of this series, the retailers can continue into the longer term, with intermittent articles as they become offered all told departments of all 3 huge Box retailers. The opinions expressed during this article area unit the author's opinions solely and may not be construed as AN endorsement of any distributer.