Home Depot is quietly beating out Lowe’s in urgent customer race | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Some decisions in life require long and diligent bouts of thinking, often over a glass of whiskey or while staring through a rainy window for dramatic effect.

But figuring out where you need to go to find lumber or a can of paint is not one of those decisions.

Odds are, the last time you needed something for a project around the house, you knew exactly where to go before you even grabbed the car keys.

Most of us know and frequent our favorite home improvement store because it’s the closest one in town.

It’s not that the store is particularly better than its competition; it’s just close by and has the stuff we need. At least that’s how most shoppers view home improvement retailers.

At other retailers, customers tend to be a little more loyal. Some folks will go out of their way to drive the extra 20 minutes for access to a Target instead of a Walmart, for example.

But home improvement customers are not this way. Largely, they base their decision on proximity, availability, and prices.

And since most home improvement retailers sell a lot of the same brands, proximity is the name of the game when it comes to winning business.

Home Depot has edged out Lowe’s for market share.

Image source&colon; Shutterstock-Manuela Durson

Home improvement shoppers are practical

Loyal as some customers might be to one brand over another, that’s largely changing.

In a world made more expensive by things like inflation, tariffs, supply chain issues, and interest rates, more customers are exploring the savings benefits associated with generic label brands and price comparing across stores.

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Fewer of us stay loyal to a given supermarket, big-box store, or other retailer simply because we’re creatures of habit or prefer its layout.

But we also have to stay realistic. It rarely makes sense to drive an extra hour to potentially save a few dollars.

So retailers that offer low prices and proximity are something of a sweet spot for customers.

Such is the case for Home Depot (HD) , which boasts over 2,000 stores across the U.S. and often holds sales or markdown events on popular home improvement items.

Home Depot edges out Lowe’s

And now, a new finding of the Numerator Home Improvement Tracker shows that Home Depot has a healthy lead over competitor Lowe’s (LOW) in terms of market share, per Chain Store Age.

The Tracker found that, through 2024, Home Depot captured about 28% of the home improvement market. Lowe’s came in at second place, with 18% of the market.

Other retailers on the list include Walmart, Amazon, and Ace Hardware.

Proximity was listed as the number one reason a customer would choose one store over another.

For reference, Home Depot has over 2,000 stores across the U.S., and Lowe’s has about 1,750.

The two have been locked in a competitive battle to attract more professional talent and contractors.

In 2024, Home Depot made its largest-ever acquisition of SRS Distribution for $18.25 billion.

And in 2025, Lowe’s purchased ADG for $1.32 billion.

Both are contractor-facing companies that the retailers are betting will push them deeper into the pro space and boost accessibility for larger projects.