At Home Depot, here’s what sold (and didn’t)

Home Depot’s fourth quarter – the three months ended Feb. 3 – produced U.S. comparable store sales of 3.7%.

According to Ted Decker, executive VP of merchandising, the departments that led the way with higher than average comps were tools, appliances, décor, indoor garden, building materials, outdoor garden, hardware and paint.

[For more on Home Depot's Q4 earnings, click here.]

Other departments posted positive comps, but below the average – electrical, plumbing, flooring, millwork and kitchen and bath.

Two departments produced negative comps for the quarter: lighting and the lumber, which felt the impact of volatility and deflation, Decker said. He said lumber prices today sit about 25% below last year’s prices – a far cry from the second quarter, when they hovered about 40% higher than the prior year.

Across the country, the sales results of the world’s largest home improvement retailer felt the impact of unfavorable weather, mixed with a difficult comparison year, when sales were boosted by hurricane recovery purchases.

“When we look through the unfavorable weather we experience in the fourth quarter, we were pleased with how the business performed,” Decker said during the latest investor’s call.

Once again, sales to the pro outpaced sales to the DIY customer, according to Decker. And the following big-ticket categories had comps above the company average: vinyl plank flooring, roofing and appliances.

“We continue to see strong performance in pro heavy categories like power tools, water heaters and commercial and industrial lighting,” he added.

Decker drew attention to a number of other merchandising highlights:

• In 2018, Home Depot attracted about 2 billion online visitors;

• The retailer is rolling out new, paint-department color solutions to all stores in 2019;

• The exterior stain departments will receive a full reset;

• With a big-box home improvement channel exclusive with Traeger, stores will introduce the Traeger live fire grills, which connect to the user’s smart phone;

• On Black Friday, Nov. 23, 2018, Home Depot enjoyed its highest sales day in company history. Home Depot didn't share the figure, but it would have to be more than $300 million, which is roughly an average day of sales for Home Depot.