Stat of the Week: Price comparisons
This week’s “Stat of the Week” looks at pricing.
STAT: Elevated average prices are offsetting overall unit sales declines in home improvement retail segments. September 2022 home improvement unit sales were 16% below 2021, but dollar sales were just 5% shy of last year’s performance.
SOURCE: The NPD Group / Checkout, September 2022
ANALYSIS: “Similar to all of general merchandise, home improvement average selling price is up versus last year, but it is rising faster,” said Joe Derochowski, home industry advisor at NPD Group. “Manufacturers and retailers are still trying to balance the rising costs of goods with helping consumers meet their needs in the most economical way.”
More data on home improvement prices, transactions and average tickets was shared by Home Depot and Lowe’s during these retail giant’s third-quarter earnings reports.
At Home Depot, Jeff Kinnaird, executive vice president of merchandising described third quarter comp transactions down 4.4 percent, but third-quarter average ticket up 8.8 percent. He cited inflation as a primary driver of average ticket growth. Big-ticket comp-transactions—defined as those above $1,000—were up 10.1 percent over the same quarter last year, he said.
A similar trend was reported by Lowe’s during its third quarter. Lowe’s comparable average ticket increased 8 percent, also driven by inflation. This gain was partially offset by a decline in comp transactions.
Both of the giant home center retailers reported their fiscal third quarter earnings in mid November. Overall comp sales in the United States were positive 4.5 percent for Home Depot and positive 3.0 percent for Lowe’s.
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The NPD Group is a global information company offering data, industry expertise, and prescriptive analytics. NPD’s Checkout provides receipt-based information on in-store and e-commerce purchases from over 150,000 actively engaged buyers, the largest omnichannel panel focused on general merchandise and foodservice.
