In recent years, the sluggish U.S. housing market has weighed heavily on home improvement retail, and Lowe’s has not been immune.
After weak sales growth in 2025, the home improvement retail chain has recently expanded its offerings and services to win back customers. As these changes are implemented, Lowe’s has noticed a concerning shift in the way customers shop in its stores.
In the first quarter of 2026, Lowe’s saw its comparable sales increase by 0.6%, compared to the same quarter a year ago, according to its latest earnings report. Additionally, recent data from Placer.ai revealed that in-person traffic at Lowe’s stores during the quarter increased 2% year over year.
The small increase in demand comes at a time when Lowe’s has been focused on making the customer experience more seamless, especially for its Pro customers (residential and commercial trade professionals).
In February, it expanded product access and added digital tools to its Pro Extended Aisle, a digital catalog that gives Pro customers access to real-time inventory and pricing.
The following month, Lowe’s introduced a HomeCare+ subscription for MyLowe’s Rewards members, offering seven essential home maintenance services for $99 a year. Additionally, it began offering free same-day delivery to MyLowe’s Rewards members who make online purchases of $25 or more.
Lowe’s sees a shift in the way customers shop
During an earnings call on May 20, Lowe’s CFO Brandon Sink revealed that the average amount of money Lowe’s customers spent per purchase at comparable stores during the quarter increased 1.5% year over year.
This was mainly due to “modest price inflation” and an increase in sales of household appliances.
However, the number of transactions customers made at these locations decreased by 0.9% as discretionary DIY (do-it-yourself) purchases remained low.
Sink said customers are cutting back on large discretionary purchases in the DIY category and instead focusing on tackling smaller home improvement projects.
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“DIY is still very attractive, but it is still in the categories related to repair, maintenance and replacement,” he said. “…I would say this has been a trend for several years now. The categories that are related to high-value discretionary products are those categories in the merchandising divisions that continue to sort of lag behind.”
Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison said during the call that the company is seeing a shift in how higher-income customers shop compared to lower-income customers as economic pressures increase.
“What we’ve seen so far is what we’ve seen all year, and that is that we are operating and what we would describe as a K-shaped economy where the higher-income consumer is spending and spending on innovation, and they’re spending on things to modernize their home, and the lower-income consumer is a little more cautious and a little more uncertain based on all the macro factors that we all know so well,” Ellison said.
Lowe’s customers are cutting back on purchases for big home improvement projects. Photo by Scott Olson from Getty Images
Lowe’s CEO Reveals Why Customers Are Changing Course
He also noted that challenges in the U.S. housing market are negatively impacting DIY customers.
“This has been the toughest real estate market I’ve faced in this business since the financial crisis,” Ellison said. “It falls almost exclusively or disproportionately on the DIY customer. That’s where most of our revenue comes from.”
Home turnover rates have fallen to historic lows since 2022, the same year 30-year fixed-rate mortgages surpassed 6%. After seeing an improvement late last year, mortgage rates have slowly risen again in recent months.
According to data from the National Association of Realtors, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached 6.33% in April, up from 6.18% in March and 6.05% in February.
Amid this increase, existing home sales in April increased 0.2% month over month, but remained stable compared to the same period last year.
In a news release, Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said the number of days homes remain on the market is “increasing on average, implying that consumers are taking their time before making decisions.”
Lowe’s relies on value to drive customer demand
As uncertainty persists in the housing market, Lowe’s plans to double the value to keep customers interested.
“We continue to listen to the customer and they are looking at all of these values that we bring to the market,” William Boltz, Lowe’s executive vice president of merchandising, said during the earnings conference call.
“And so as we think about the second quarter (the second quarter of 2026), what awaits us as we come into this weekend with Memorial weekend, obviously, is continuing to keep these values front and center for the customer,” he continued.
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Lowe’s expects its comparable sales this year to remain flat or increase 2% year over year.
“We entered this year with a fairly conservative view that we would have basically flat growth overall in the home improvement sector,” Ellison said. “And we basically set our direction to gain share and outperform the market.”
In an analyst note obtained by TheStreet, Bank of America research analyst Christopher Nardone wrote that his institution is lowering its fiscal 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Lowe’s from $0.10 to $12.33 to reflect a “weaker” sales/margin forecast for the second quarter.
“Given rising demand and cost pressures, we believe the lower end of management’s EPS guidance is more likely than not due to an improvement in underlying housing fundamentals,” Nardone wrote in the note. “Mgmt is leaning into sales-boosting initiatives such as promotions and marketing to help drive demand in a weak DIY market, while cost pressures continue unabated.”
It is vital that Lowe’s focuses on improving the customer experience with value this year, while fighting economic headwinds. A recent JD Power survey found that the company lags behind its major competitors in the home improvement retail market in terms of consumer satisfaction.
2026 Home Improvement Retail Consumer Satisfaction Rankings:
He average consumer satisfaction score for US home improvement retailers is 672 (on a scale of 1,000 points), up to 1 point of the same survey in 2025.
Menards has the highest consumer satisfaction score, 690.
house deposit takes second place with a satisfaction rate of 679.
Hardware ace falls right behind Home Depot with a 673 score.
Lowe’s consumer satisfaction score takes a hit 659, falling under the segment average. Source: JD Power
“While there have been significant gains in most operating areas, buyers cannot ignore rising prices,” Michael Taylor, senior managing director at JD Power, said in a news release. “This sensitivity to value for the price paid has a direct impact on trust in the retailer, as both dimensions experienced a decrease in satisfaction this year.”
“Even with the recent emphasis on technology and delivery, home improvement shoppers still want in-store advice, and retailers that invest in trained, service-oriented staff will be better positioned to rebuild trust and drive long-term loyalty,” he continued.
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This story was originally published by TheStreet on May 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a preferred source by clicking here.
