Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Ace Hardware compete to be the go-to store for all things home improvement.
They stock everything you might need to fix up your home, including kitchen and bath fixtures, screws and bolts, paint, and tools. All three stores offer in-store pickup and do-it-yourself tips.
Home Depot has 2,284 stores in North America, Lowe’s has about 2,370, and Ace Hardware has 4,418 stores, most of which are independently owned and operated. However, Home Depot and Lowe’s stores are typically much larger than Ace Hardware stores.
When visiting outposts of all three retailers, we noticed that Home Depot felt like a massive warehouse, whereas Ace Hardware felt more like a local hardware store without the flashy showrooms and massive promotions that Home Depot had. Lowe’s fell somewhere in the middle of the two stores – it was comparable in size to Home Depot but didn’t feel as much like a warehouse.
All three home-improvement stores have performed well as of late. Home Depot reported on Tuesday that same-store sales were up 8% in its most recent fiscal quarter, Lowe’s reported in May that first-quarter comparable sales were up 0.6%, and Ace Hardware reported in May that first-quarter sales were up 2.2%.
The target market is another notable difference between the stores. Home Depot tends to appeal more to professionals – like contractors, interior designers, and plumbers – while Lowe’s and Ace Hardware welcome a more do-it-yourself crowd.
In addition, Home Depot appears to be the store of choice for millennials. In a Bank of America survey of 1,000 millennials, reported by US News, 64% said Home Depot was their top choice for home-improvement shopping.
Here’s what we found when we visited Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Ace Hardware stores in New York City: