The Home Depot’s focus on the professional market remains unwavering, even as U.S. consumers curb their home improvement splurges.
That was the latest from the Atlanta-based retailer’s executives as they shared the company’s third-quarter 2024 earnings Tuesday (Nov. 12).
“While macroeconomic uncertainty remains, our third quarter performance exceeded our expectations,” Home Depot Chair, President and CEO Ted Decker said in a statement. “As weather normalized, we saw better engagement across seasonal goods and certain outdoor projects as well as incremental sales related to hurricane demand.”
He added on an earnings call that “big-ticket transactions were down 6.8% year over year, and we continue to see softer engagement in discretionary projects where customers use financing, such as kitchen and bathroom remodels.”
Faced with these fiscally cautious homeowners, the home improvement retailer has turned its attention to the steady B2B demand among trade professionals, which has remained more resilient in the face of economic uncertainty.
For the past half-decade, Home Depot has invested billions of dollars into enhancing its professional offerings, including new distribution centers, improved supply chain logistics, and targeted online platforms for pros. Now, in the face of dwindling consumer spending, those investments look especially prescient.
Home Depot’s quarterly sales rose 6.6% year over year to $40.2 billion, and the company raised its full-year outlook on the back of the stronger-than-expected results.
Read also: Home Depot Looks for B2B Buffer Against Softening Consumer Spend
Unlike individual consumers who might hold off on renovations or repairs, commercial clients and building professionals are under contract deadlines to finish projects, keeping the demand pipeline relatively steady.
Key to Home Depot’s pro strategy is its digital overhaul. The company has tailored its website and app to offer pros a faster, more seamless shopping experience, including features that allow for job site deliveries, bulk pricing and personalized accounts. This digital emphasis aligns with the pro segment’s need for efficiency — a necessity when every minute counts on a job site.
To ensure pros have the support they need, Home Depot executives said Tuesday that the company has also ramped up its workforce training.
“We focus on building relationships with our most important pros, including by allocating more resources during peak times,” executives told investors.
Employees at stores with a high volume of contractor traffic receive additional training on pro-specific product lines and services, allowing them to answer technical questions and recommend tailored solutions.
“We are pleased with the growth and strength of our pro ecosystem across 17 markets … delivering the best buying experience for all pro experiences,” executives said, noting that “lumber, plumbing and hardware were all above the company average for the most recent quarter.”
Home Depot’s focus on professional clients is not without risks. Building a pro-focused business demands investment in supply chain capabilities, as bulk and custom orders can strain logistics. Home Depot has addressed this by enhancing its supply chain through a network of flatbed distribution centers that cater specifically to professional jobs, allowing the company to fulfill more orders more efficiently.
Earlier this year, Home Depot spent $18.2 billion to acquire SRS, which operates as a distributor for roofing firms and construction projects. The company has 760 locations, thousands of trucks on the road and has closed more than 100 acquisitions of roofing and building suppliers.
Still, the most recent quarter marked the eighth consecutive quarter of negative comparable sales at Home Depot. The retailer expects to open around a dozen new stores this fiscal year, which ends in early February.
“This is a market, and markets ultimately return to equilibrium,” Decker said on the call, referring to the state of consumer home improvement demand. “We just don’t think we are quite there yet.”
We get a lot of press releases here at PYMNTS. We consider all of them, and some are more newsworthy than others. But this one really got our attention. This past week, Diebold Nixdorf made headlines with its announcement of successfully installing two new automated teller machines (ATMs) at the U.S. National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station in Antarctica. This achievement marks a significant milestone in banking accessibility, to be sure. We would like to meet the crew that installed them. We’d also like to know why they needed two. Was there a line at the first one? More to come on that.
According to Diebold, McMurdo Station is Antarctica’s largest research and logistics hub, supporting a fluctuating population that ranges from fewer than 200 residents during the winter months to up to 1,100 individuals during the summer (October through February). The presence of these ATMs is crucial, it says, as the next closest banking facilities are thousands of miles away, making them the only ATMs on the entire continent. How’s that for a value proposition?
The DN Series ATMs are designed for always-on availability. And why do they need two? One ATM is actively in use, while the second serves as a backup for spare parts, ensuring uninterrupted service in this isolated area. These machines are connected to the DN AllConnect Data Engine, which leverages Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor their performance. A dedicated team continuously aggregates and analyzes technical data to identify potential issues, enabling remote diagnostics and repairs. The ATM can be maintained by trained staff at NSF McMurdo Station, or the Diebold Nixdorf service team can remotely guide them through the repair process.
Anyway, it got us thinking. Are there other surprising ATMs in extreme locations? Well, of course, there are. Here’s a sampling of what we found.
At an altitude of about 5,364 meters (17,600 feet), the Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal is another unexpected place to find an ATM. Although it’s not a permanent fixture and is often set up seasonally, it caters to climbers and trekkers who need cash for local transactions. This temporary ATM service underscores the adaptability of banking services in extreme environments.
In some parts of the Amazon rainforest, particularly in Brazil and Peru, ATMs can be found in small villages and towns. These machines are vital for local communities, providing access to cash in areas where digital payment options might be limited. The presence of ATMs here demonstrates how banking services can reach even the most remote communities.
Located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, Nagqu is home to one of the highest ATMs in the world. This region is very remote, with limited infrastructure, making the presence of an ATM a notable example of banking accessibility in extreme environments.
In the Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu) off the coast of Jakarta, Indonesia, there’s a floating ATM. This unique ATM serves the local community and tourists on the islands, demonstrating how banking services can adapt to isolated marine environments.
Longyearbyen, the administrative center of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway, boasts the most northerly ATM. This location is one of the most remote inhabited places on Earth, with limited access to mainland Norway, making the ATM a vital service for residents and visitors.
On a more serious note, the installation of ATMs in places like Antarctica and other remote locations highlights the evolving nature of banking technology. With advancements in IoT, AI and remote diagnostics, it’s becoming increasingly feasible to provide banking services in areas previously considered inaccessible. As we look to the future, it will be interesting to see where else ATMs might appear. Whether it’s on a remote island, at the top of a mountain or even in space, the ability to access cash is becoming more universal than ever. And who knows? Maybe one day, we’ll see an ATM on Mars, serving the first interplanetary travelers.
For now, the presence of ATMs in unexpected places reminds us that banking is not just about transactions; it’s about connecting people and communities across the globe, no matter how remote they might be.
