Virus-induced spending spurs sales at Home Depot, Walmart
NEW YORK, United States (AP) — Americans turned to Walmart and Home Depot for supplies and do-it-yourself projects as they stayed close to home at a time when new cases of the novel coronavirus surged, resulting in soaring sales for the fiscal second quarter of the two stores.
Walmart’s online sales nearly doubled in the fiscal second quarter, helped by an expansion of its online delivery services. Sales at US locations opened at least a year jumped 9.3 per cent, the company reported yesterday. With customers not going out to eat as much, they’re cooking at home, spurring sales of groceries. They’re also buying items to set up their home office or improve their outdoor area, store executives said.
Home Depot, the nation’s largest home improvement chain, reported yesterday a 23.4 per cent increase in sales at stores opened at least a year globally, helped by a frenzied pace of do-it-yourself projects. That’s almost twice the 12.2 per cent increase that industry analysts had projected.
However, department store chain Kohl’s reported an adjusted loss that was smaller than expected and revenue fell 23 per cent during the fiscal second quarter. The results came as Kohl’s worked to reopen its 1,100 stores after temporarily closing them all during the start of the pandemic.
“Some parts of retailing are thriving; some parts are being devastated,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail. “It’s demonstrating a dramatic shift of how and where shoppers are spending their money. People’s lives are revolving around the home. That means food, home improvement and comfortable clothes.”
Consumers had already begun to rely on Walmart, Home Depot and other essential retailers like Target and Amazon as lifelines for necessities during the start of the pandemic. Walmart’s online sales, for example, rose 74 per cent for the fiscal first quarter. That trend accelerated to 97 per cent in the second quarter and broadened the gap between traditional retailers, many of them anchor stores at the mall, and big box operators like Walmart and Target.
Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass told reporters on a call last Wednesday that the chain, based in Menomonee, Wisconsin, should benefit from mostly being located at strip centres. It’s also looking to capture sales from rivals that are closing. She also says that its home furnishings are resonating even more as shoppers are focusing on their home. During the second quarter, 50 per cent of online sales were fulfilled in stores.