Home Depot follows in Walmart's footsteps for holiday season — and risks upsetting customers
Home Depot may be one of the most popular retail chains in America, but it has its own unique customer base. It's the go-to destination for anyone who is planning a home improvement. But the retail giant sometimes takes inspiration from business practices of other successful retail chains, such as Walmart, although consumers may not appreciate that.
Home Depot stays open on almost every single day of the year, while Walmart and Costco remain closed on holidays. However, now Home Depot stays shut on Thanksgiving and Christmas. While this might frustrate some shoppers who are in urgent need of repairing something in their homes, the decision seems to make a lot of sense for the retailer. First of all, the employees of the retailer all deserve a break on such holidays to spend time with their loved ones. Giving employees time with their families during a busy holiday season is crucial for preventing burnout.
Another reason why this makes sense is more business-oriented. Home Depot stores are huge, and it costs a fortune to operate each of them for a whole day. Christmas and Thanksgiving, being major holidays, are not days on which the retailer sees a lot of foot traffic. So, from a financial standpoint, it makes sense that the stores are closed for those days, since such breaks boost the morale of the workforce as well.
Despite creating a conducive environment for shoppers, Home Depot has not done well of late. In its third-quarter earnings report, Home Depot revealed that its comparable sales in the U.S. only increased by 0.1% on a year-on-year basis, missing the retailer's estimates by a long shot. It was attributed to a tepid home improvement demand, low consumer spending, and a lack of storm activity, which in the last year had grown its sales, as homeowners looked to prepare for the hurricanes.
“Our results missed our expectations primarily due to the lack of storms in the third quarter, which resulted in greater-than-expected pressure in certain categories. Additionally, while underlying demand in the business remained relatively stable sequentially, an expected increase in demand in the third quarter did not materialize. We believe that consumer uncertainty and continued pressure in housing are disproportionately impacting home improvement demand,” said Ted Decker, chair, president, and CEO, in a statement.
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