1. HOME DEPOT DIGITAL STRATEGY
ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Presented by
Steve Gilberg
June 11, 2013
2. Today’s Presentation:
• Home Depot Background
• Digital Strategy
• Digital Channels
• Strengths & Challenges
• Recommendations
3. Home Depot Background:
• Founded in 1978 in Atlanta, Georgia, and today operates more than 2,200
home improvement stores
• Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer with
fiscal 2012 retail sales of $74.8 billion and earnings of $4.5 billion
• Home Depot stores sell building materials, home improvement products, and
lawn and garden products, as well as provide installation, home maintenance,
and professional service programs to do-it-yourself, do-it-for-me, and
professional customers.
• The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) Stock Price: 77.73, 1.01 (June 10, 2013) and is
included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500
index.
• Top Competitor: Lowes (LOW) Stock Price: 41.18, 0.42 (June 10, 2013)
• Kevin Hofmann: SVP and President – Online
4. Digital Strategy:
To seamlessly integrate in-store, e-commerce, and
mobile platforms to improve the customer experience
• Provide Inspiration
• Sell More Product
• Facilitate Projects
5. Digital Channels:
E-Commerce:
• 40K SKUs, 300K SKUs via Buy Online, Ship to Store
• 2011 Revenue: $600MM, Annual Growth: 8%
• 60% of HD consumers research large purchases online
• Site Statistics:
• Alexa U.S. Ranking: 69 (Lowes: 110)
• Search Visits: 26.2% (Lowes: 24.8)
• Average Visit: 6 minutes, 44 seconds per pageview
• Site Demographics:
• Gender: Mostly Female
• Age: 25-64, most 35-44 and 55-64
• Children in Household: 55% No Kids
• Household Income: 31% $100-150K
• Education: 56% College Graduates
• Ethnicity: 79% Caucasian
Mobile:
• 4MM App Downloads
• Browse and shop via any iOS, Android, or Windows device
• Have the store in your pocket
• Check local store inventory and view in-store aisle location
6. Digital Channels, cont.
Social Media:
• Facebook: 1.1MM Likes (Lowes: 2.4MM Likes)
• Twitter: 125K Followers (Lowes: 93K Followers) Richard the Cat: 806 Followers
• YouTube: Home Depot Channel: 28K Subscribers/2.8K Videos (Lowes Channel: 49K
Subscribers/1.1K Videos)
• Pinterest: Active in DIY, Projects, Flowers, Paint, Cabinets
SEM:
• 2011 SEM Estimate Spend: $50.3MM (Source: Larry Kim, Wordstream)
• Common Keywords and CPC
• Home Air Conditioning, $8.67
• Replacement Window Cost, $8.03
• Appliance Repair, $7.06
• Cabinet Refacing. $6.07
7. Strengths:
• Brand Strength, Product Assortment
• Female demo drives sales
• Social Media engagement is very strong
• DIY Videos instill confidence, drive sales
• Mobile apps deliver Home Depot on-the-go
Challenges:
• Website is one-size-fits-all
• Needs more UX testing. Difficult to find services.
• Missing Up-Sell and Cross-Sell Opportunities
• No iPad App
• Practically no personalization
• Pro/Contractor segment is generally not tech savvy or at an education level to
use sophisticated online tools
8. Recommendations:
1. Site Personalization!
2. Elevate Big Brands - Increases SEO, Traffic and Visibility
3. Grow Content Development Strategy
4. Move all In-Home Scheduling Services Online
5. Multi-Language Site to Support Pros – Spanish (Polish?)
6. Integrate BlackLocus data collection and analysis techniques to create a
multi-dimensional profile of each HD customer
7. Engage Dotomi to personalize HD’s online marketing to achieve greater ROAS
and increased user engagement