Home Depot is jumping into the home decor business, but its push to sell products like textiles and furniture isn't just about becoming an online one-stop shop for customers.
The company also has to contend with its crucial pro market. So how is the home-improvement giant strategizing around a segment of shoppers that are intent on running a business, rather than just finding the perfect duvet for their living room?
After all, a home-improvement professional could very well be tasked with staging a home. That being said, they likely won't be picking out styles according to their personal tastes alone.
The answer, according to merchandising EVP Ted Decker and SVP Jeanine Huebner, lies in focusing on women customers instead of the pros themselves.
"From all of our history, when you look at the categories we play in — in decor, paints, rugs and all the other categories — the 'she' customer is making most of the decisions, even if they're utilizing that pro to help them with the renovation," Huebner said. "If they're utilizing the pro, whether it's to install or paint, we've really had our focus on 'her,' to help convert her with the sale."
Huebner said that Home Depot also has a program known as pro referral that "allows people to purchase some items" and, oftentimes, have "someone contact them to complete the work."
Basically, the company is thinking less about what the average home-improvement professional might want from decor, and more about what female customers hiring those pros might have in mind.
The end result is that Home Depot is seeking to make it easier for both pros and their customers to get the products they want.
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