Major home improvement retailers have built their businesses on the idea that customers are “do-it-yourselfers.” Offer the right tools and products — along with a few in-store or online tutorials — and you’ll win their business. But now, one of those retailers, Home Depot, is adapting to a change among its core customers, who are now transitioning from “do it yourself” to “do it for me.”
According to a recent report in the Washington Post: “Home Depot executives said they will be ramping up their focus on catering to the professional contractor — whether they are an independent handyman or a small or midsize business — as older homeowners tire of taking on home improvement projects themselves.”
The housing market is playing a pivotal role, according to the story: “With home prices climbing, and given that about 63% of the housing stock in the United States is more than 30 years old, Home Depot executives said they believe these boomers will still want to invest in improving their homes. But catering to them will increasingly be a different proposition. It will mean being smarter about wooing the professionals who boomers might hire to do these jobs for them.”
For rural lifestyle dealers, that same trend could apply to properties as well as homes. Now is a good time to evalute your landscape contractor strategies as they may be evaluating their fleets in this offseason, giving you sales opportunities.
Read more about the trend and how Home Depot is adapting.
