Are you excited to read the topic Home Depot Vs Lowes
When talking about hardware stores in America, two stores stand out above the rest. The biggest is Home Depot, and the second biggest is Lowes. Lowes has been in the number one position for about 30 years, but in the late ’80s, Home Depot took that number one spot from Lowes.
It has been that way ever since. But what has changed over the years is how much of a lead Home Depot has over Lowes. Home Depot is a clear winner by all means and measures. Still, Lowes is very much a threat to Home Depot. If Home Depot makes any mistakes, Lowes can take the lead.
These two hardware stores are home improvement stores that deal with bathroom and kitchen fittings, everyday gardening tools, lighting fixtures, paint, and many more such items.
Brief History of Lowes and Home Depot
Lowes started long before the Home Depot, almost a hundred years ago. The Lowes retail store was set up in 1921 by Lucius Smith Lowe in a small town named Wilkesboro in North Carolina. This town has a population of about 3500 people. So, this was the small-town hardware store. The store was known as Mr. L.S Lowes North Wilkesboro Hardware originally. In 1940, Lucius Smith died, the son James Lowe took over. After a few years, the business was handed to his brother-in-law Carl Buchan.
Home Depot started in the year 1979. The HomeDepot was founded by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank. At first, they opened two stores. Initially, they struggled to find buyers, but soon they found their way out. These two decided to launch a home improvement retail outfit that would be significantly bigger and cheaper than most competitors. The thing that made Home Depot different from other retailers at that time was that they conducted workshops and events to teach people to how to fix things in their own homes.
Let’s now compare these giant hardware stores:
Number of Hardware Stores
According to a 2017 survey, the number of stores of The Home Depot is more as compared to Lowes but the average store size of a Home Depot store is more than the average size of a Lowes store.
Sales
In terms of sales, The Home Depot is the clear winner. They did business of nearly about $100.9 billion in 2017 and has been increasing since that day whereas Lowes did a 68.6 billion dollar business in that same year. If
the buyer buys products using Lowes Consumer Credit Card, they will get a discount of five percent on the bill. Home, On the other hand, Depot does not offer any credit card that provides a discount.
The ambiance of the Store
Home Depot fascinates more professionals like contractors, interior designers, or plumbers, while Lowes gives a homely feeling when a consumer visits its store. It is more like DIY(do-it-yourself) store. The Home Depot stores are like massive warehouses, whereas Lowes stores are more like retail stores with bright and clear floor displays and interiors. Home Depot has services not provided by Lowes. Most Home Depot locations have tool rental departments. Lowes does not. Many Home Depot tool rental departments can rent trucks. No Lowes store rents trucks.
Collection at the stores
Home Depot has a variety of products, with a huge online catalog. They have great lighting fixtures that include Google Home Ready, Amazon Alexa voice service, bulbs, tube lights, and various other types of lights and flooring and wall tiles.
Lowes has brands that are not available at Home Depot and vice versa. That is a matter of preference. I know painters who will only use Valspar paint, which is only available at Lowes.Lowes has more stocks in their inventory on any day than Home Depot. Lowes has a better collection range of items.
Return Policy
Lowes follows a 30-day return policy. The items must be returned in the same condition as they were at the time of purchase with proof of purchase within 30 days of purchase. They return/refund most of the items, but there are certain items like labor charges, installation charges, shipping charges, assembling non-refundable charges.
Home Depot follows a 90-day return policy. If the consumer buys the product using The Home Depot Consumer Credit Card or the Home Depot Commercial Account, they have full 365 days from the date of purchase to receive a full refund or return. But for items purchased using cash or card, they follow a 30-day return policy where they return/refund the products they find valid according to their guidelines.
Lowes customer service and return policy is better as compared to Home Depot. The salespeople of Lowes are also very polite and cooperative.
Conclusion:
Both the stores sell everything from power tools to kitchen cabinets to gardening tools, flooring, and lighting. They both provide a variety and wider range of products at a very reasonable price. At the end of the day, it is a free market and the buyer has to call the shots.
