Home Depot’s tech-infused holiday
Home improvement’s busy selling season falls in the spring. But the Thanksgiving-through-New Year’s holiday rush brings another wave of unique retail pressures. And The Home Depot was prepared.
How? By leaning heavily on technology.
In an interview that appeared in Chain Store Age, HBSDealer’s sister publication, Angie Brown, senior VP of technology, explained that getting ready for the holidays is part of a year-round process, with the goals of making the shopping experience flexible and seamless in stores and online.
She shared the following highlights in her interview.
• On mobile technology:
“… Mobile technology is a cornerstone of our strategy. Anyone can download the Home Depot app on their iPhone, iPad or Android devices to make a purchase.
“Shoppers can use the app’s product locator to find items they need to start and finish any home improvement job, and use our project guides to help find solutions. If they need several items, they can use the app to build a digital shopping list they’ll never lose and keep track of orders and receipts. They may even discover savings in their cart with our ‘Special Buy of the Day’ and other promotional offers.
“People can leverage these features while purchasing from home or while out shopping. And now that more and more people are doing the majority of their holiday shopping online, it's important to us that customers experience all The Home Depot has to offer – from our inventory to our expertise – at their fingertips.”
• On the recently introduced hdPhones:
“The Home Depot launched new mobile devices for our store associates called hdPhones. Our hdPhones are equipped with Wi-Fi 6 capabilities, a long-range scanner, and all-day battery strength, allowing associates to locate products quickly and assist customers both inside the store and in the parking lot, for example.
“This helps our associates remove friction from the in-store shopping experience for our customers.”
• On “search intent” technology:
“Home Depot also utilizes search intent technology to meet our customers where they are. Search intent improves the digital experience by identifying the product or service that customers need without extra work on their end.
“For example, searching for an outdoor ceiling fan can be a complex process since we offer so many to choose from. With search intent, the search engine uses terabytes of data and machine learning capabilities to discover hidden connections among products – such as sloped ceilings, ceiling fans and downrods.
“That way, when a customer needs to pair their ceiling fan purchase with a downrod of a certain length, the engine will return more relevant results. We aim to stay one step ahead of our customers, so their online experience is not only valuable but intuitive beyond their expectations.”
• On holiday shopping options:
“If customers are purchasing from home, they can choose curbside pickup and our associates will bring their order to them. If customers are in store, they can use the product search tool to find items in the exact aisle with ‘Store Mode’ in our mobile app. Once they locate the product, they can try our product scanner to verify the price, check the number in stock and even read reviews.”
Read the original Chain Store Age article here.
