Lowe’s, like a number of of its opponents within the house enchancment retail area, has struggled with weak shopper demand as a giant query mark hovers over the U.S. housing market.
In its newest earnings report, Lowe’s revealed that its comparable gross sales solely elevated by 0.4% yr over yr throughout the third quarter of 2025. Moreover, latest knowledge from Placer.ai discovered that foot visitors in Lowe’s shops decreased by 0.1% throughout the quarter in comparison with the identical time interval in 2024.
The corporate’s high competitor, House Depot, additionally skilled a 0.4% lower in foot visitors at its shops throughout the quarter, as its gross sales rose by solely 0.1% yr over yr. Wayfair, which sells house decor and furnishings, even revealed in its most up-to-date earnings report that the variety of lively clients on its platform throughout the quarter fell by 2.3%.
Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison highlighted throughout an earnings name in November that affordability considerations and excessive rates of interest within the housing market are inflicting house retail customers to tug again their spending.
“Affordability and uncertainty in the broader economy continue to weigh on consumer confidence, particularly when it comes to larger discretionary purchases, as borrowing costs have been elevated for longer than originally anticipated,” mentioned Ellison.
The common 30-year mortgage fee within the U.S. has remained above 6% since 2022, prompting many customers to hit pause on new house purchases. Regardless of latest challenges, the U.S. housing market is slowly enhancing as rates of interest have dropped over the previous few months.
Lowe’s shops suffered a slight lower in foot visitors throughout the third quarter of 2025.
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How the U.S. housing market carried out in November 2025:
- The common 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in November was 6.24%, down from 6.25% in October.
- Current-home gross sales elevated by 0.5% month over month.
- Month-over-month U.S. house gross sales rose within the Northeast and South, however remained flat within the West and declined within the Midwest.
Sources: Nationwide Affiliation of Realtors, Freddie Mac
“Existing-home sales increased for the third straight month due to lower mortgage rates this autumn,” mentioned NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in a press launch. “However, inventory growth is beginning to stall. With distressed property sales at historic lows and housing wealth at an all-time high, homeowners are in no rush to list their properties during the winter months.”
“Wage development is outpacing house worth good points, which improves housing affordability,” Yun added. “Still, future affordability could be hampered if housing supply fails to keep pace with demand.”
Lowe’s unveils another round of free offers amid sales slump
In response to changing consumer behavior, Lowe’s has recently launched free offers for its customers, specifically MyLowe’s Rewards members, over the past few months to help boost demand in its stores.
For example, during Black Friday, it gave away free Lowe’s buckets full of products worth up to $100 to the first 50 MyLowe’s Rewards members who entered their stores at 6 a.m., along with a chance to win a home appliance worth up to $2,000.
Then the retailer gave away free holiday mugs to the first 200 rewards members who entered stores on Dec. 13.
Now, Lowe’s is rolling out another round of freebies to celebrate MyLowe’s Rewards Member Week, which starts on Jan. 10.
Related: Lowe’s announces free offer for customers amid struggles
Customers who are part of its rewards program, which is free to join, can receive free prizes such as $5 in MyLowe’s money or 20% off a purchase of up to $100 when they enter stores on Jan. 10, starting at 10 a.m., according to a recent post on Lowe’s Facebook page.
Kids can also receive free gifts such as a key chain, crayons, a coloring book, or a mini blue hard hat that says “MyLowe’s Rewards Kids Club.”
It is very important be aware that these provides can solely be obtained in-store and in restricted portions. They’re additionally obtainable whereas provides final.
The transfer from Lowe’s comes after Ellison mentioned throughout the earnings name in November that the corporate’s rewards program is boosting spending in its shops.
“We’re leveraging our loyalty ecosystem to increase our customer preferences for Lowe’s, so they choose us first and shop more often,” mentioned Ellison. “In fact, our 30 million Milo’s Rewards members shop twice as often and spend over 50% more than nonmembers.”
Lowe’s is mirroring a rising retail development
Lowe’s isn’t the one retailer leveraging freebies to assist repair low gross sales. In 2024, Goal, which has struggled with gross sales over the previous few years, started providing freebies and unique reductions to Goal Circle 360 members on the primary of each month.
It additionally provided clients a complimentary “swag bag” on Black Friday final yr, which contained free gadgets.
Final yr, T-Cellular, which has centered on slowing down fleeing telephone clients, provided clients $900 price of freebies, giveaways, and perks by way of its T-Cellular Tuesdays program and lately promised to ramp up its free provides in 2026.
Extra Retail:
- Marshalls makes daring change to return coverage forward of holidays
- Lululemon struggles to reverse regarding buyer conduct
- Kroger provides beneficiant supply for purchasers as grocery costs rise
In an announcement to TheStreet, RTMNexus CEO Dominick Miserandino mentioned that closely counting on free provides to shore up gross sales can backfire for a corporation.
“From my experience advising retailers, leaning too heavily on discounts in a weak economy can become a race to the bottom,” mentioned Miserandino. “Promotions might bring customers in, but without delivering real value, they rarely solve deeper sales challenges.”
The U.S. financial system has been battling low shopper sentiment, as tariffs threaten to lift costs for items and companies nationwide. In response to financial pressures, many Individuals have been spending much less and looking for extra worth, in accordance with a latest survey from Wunderkind.
How U.S. customers are battling tariffs in 2025:
- Amid tariffs and inflation, 59% of customers really feel cautious, pessimistic, or panicked concerning the financial system.
- Roughly 71% cited greater costs as their high concern, whereas 47% cited unpredictable worth will increase.
- Additionally, 38% are looking for offers extra typically, whereas 34% are spending much less general.
Supply: Wunderkind
“U.S. shoppers are proving more strategic than ever,” wrote Danny O’Reilly, senior content material architect at Wunderkind, in a weblog put up.
“What began as short-term caution has now crystallized into a new retail reality: value is the priority, trust is the differentiator, and digital fluency defines how, and where consumers spend,” he added.
Associated: Lululemon struggles to reverse regarding buyer conduct
