Those that grew up with useful fathers, get pleasure from do-it-yourself house renovations, or work in building are all too accustomed to the duty of gathering provides. For a lot of, one retailer stands out above all others.
House Depot is the world’s largest house enchancment chain, working over 2,300 shops throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. It presents greater than 35,000 merchandise in-store and 1 million on-line, spanning every part from garden provides to constructing supplies.
For almost 5 a long time, House Depot has held a particular place in American house enchancment tradition. Its shiny orange emblem, the odor of lumber upon getting into its doorways, and associates’ iconic aprons have created a nostalgic connection for a lot of.
Nevertheless, regardless of its loyal following, the retailer is now battling critical headwinds. A troubled housing market, pressured by excessive house costs, rising unemployment, and ongoing financial uncertainty, has weakened demand.
To make issues worse, its retailer visits declined by 0.4% within the third quarter of 2025, in keeping with Placer.ai.
With no anticipated rebound anytime quickly, House Depot is searching for new methods to maintain shoppers engaged.
House Depot debuts The House Depot Creator Portal
House Depot (HD) has launched its new Creator portal, a platform to assist digital creators monetize their house enchancment content material and collaborate with the model. The portal supplies them with marketing campaign alternatives, artistic inspiration, and knowledgeable steering to assist them develop partaking content material.
By way of the platform, creators can even obtain product suggestions from the House Depot model and its suppliers, can earn commissions by way of shoppable hyperlinks, and procure entry to instruments that assist maximize alternatives and observe their efficiency.
Purposes at the moment are open on The House Depot Creator web site, and 1000’s of creators have already enrolled. Accepted contributors will obtain onboarding with coaching sources, greatest practices, branded hashtags, curated collections, and product catalogs. Extra perks embrace storefront capabilities, unique advantages, and product gifting.
“The Home Depot Creator portal isn’t just a website – it’s a community that drives meaningful engagement with current and future customers through talented personalities who give them confidence to tackle their home improvement projects,” stated House Depot CMO Molly Battin in a press launch.
To advertise this system, House Depot has partnered with well-known renovation and way of life creators, who will share tailor-made soccer-themed content material forward of the FIFA World Cup.
The Beginning Lineup
- Dude Good
- Trinity Rodman
- Dad Recommendation from Bo
- Glam Dapper
- DIY Huntress
- Carlos Flores
- OPE Execs
- Tony Henry
- Anothony Vidal
- Grill Dads
House Depot launches The House Depot Creator portal to win again prospects and enhance gross sales amid an trade slowdown.
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House Depot’s launch rivals Lowe’s creator program
The launch of The House Depot Creator portal follows the debut of Lowe’s Creator Program in June, which was promoted by the huge social media influencer MrBeast. Lowe’s (LOW) platform presents a really related mannequin, permitting creators to earn commissions, construct their digital model, and develop a neighborhood.
For House Depot, the timing is strategic. With excessive rates of interest and softening housing demand, householders are suspending main initiatives, and professionals usually are not spending as a lot as they did earlier than.
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Though House Depot’s internet gross sales rose 2.8% 12 months over 12 months, comparable transactions fell 1.6% within the third quarter of fiscal 2025. Comparable gross sales additionally skilled minimal progress, growing 0.2% general and solely 0.1% within the U.S.
“While underlying demand in the business remained relatively stable sequentially, an expected increase in demand in the third quarter did not materialize,” stated House Depot CEO Ted Decker in an earnings name. “We believe that consumer uncertainty and continued pressure in housing are disproportionately impacting home improvement demand.”
In an effort to strengthen its place with professionals and contractors, House Depot additionally acquired specialty constructing merchandise distributor GMS for $4.3 billion in September.
House-improvement market struggles
The house-improvement sector has confronted ongoing struggles all through 2025, as shifting housing dynamics and financial pressures reshape client spending.
Youthful generations face extra obstacles to turning into householders, but homeownership charges amongst Gen Z are nonetheless rising, making them a key demographic for long-term progress.
In 2024, greater than 26% of Gen Zers (19-27 years previous) owned a house, in keeping with Redfin Information.
House Depot and Lowe’s shift towards creator-driven content material displays a change in retailers’ methods, as they search to succeed in youthful audiences who’re more and more counting on social media, particularly as extra Gen Zers enter homeownership.
Regardless of the challenges, there’s nonetheless hope for the home-improvement sector.
“Many homeowners have deferred larger discretionary renovations in recent years, creating a buildup of latent demand,” stated Placer.ai analysts. “Once economic conditions improve and financing becomes more accessible, that pipeline of major projects is poised to reopen, driving a new wave of growth for the home improvement sector.”
Improvements like The House Depot Creator portal and provider partnerships place the retailer to seize that potential future progress. Nonetheless, analysts warning that the turnaround will take time.
“The Home Depot’s business hasn’t gotten worse, but importantly, it’s not getting better,” stated Oppenheimer Analyst Brian Nagel in a CNBC interview. “For a long time now, there have been these expectations that we’ll get some type of recovery in home improvement, and what Home Depot said… That’s not yet happening.”
TD Cowen analysts describe the corporate’s outlook as “a reasonable starting point” that would set the stage for a restoration as soon as housing and large-scale initiatives regain momentum, as reported by Reuters.
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