Home Depot Inc. grew online sales 28% for the third quarter ending Oct. 28, compared with the same period last year. The home improvement retailer, No. 7 in the Internet Retailer 2018 Top 500, didn’t break out specific figures, but said its omnichannel offerings, such as in-store pickup and ship-to-store, helped drive up its e-commerce revenue.
“Buy online, ship to store and buy online, pick up in store sales both grew faster than the overall online sales growth rate,” said CEO Craig Menear in an earnings call transcribed by Seeking Alpha. 48% of the retailer’s orders during the quarter were picked up in stores, he said. That’s up from 47% during the second quarter of this year and from 45% during the same period last year.
Home Depot can now ship to 95% of the U.S. population in two days or less, Menear said, and the retailer intends to reach 90% of the population with same-day shipping by 2020. As part of that effort, its car- and van-based delivery, mostly powered by startups Roadie and Deliv that rely on contractor drivers, now reaches 41% of the population, with increased use from both professional and do-it-yourself consumer customers, Decker said.
This supply chain push is part of the One Home Depot Supply Chain initiative, a $1.2 billion supply chain upgrade that also includes a number of pilot fulfillment centers that came online this year. Menear said more will open over the next 12 months as Home Depot pushes for faster, more efficient delivery on a wider selection of products.
In other earnings news:
- Apparel brand Canada Goose Inc. (No. 644) reported strong direct-to-consumer growth, which includes revenue from both the retailer’s 11 stores and its e-commerce sites. Revenue was up 149.0% to $38.1 million for the quarter ending Sept. 30 from $15.3 million during the same period last year. Direct-to-consumer sales accounted for 21.9% of revenue for the quarter, compared to 11.7% the year before. Part of the increase is thanks to Canada Goose’s new Tmall online store, which launched this quarter and serves Chinese consumers, according to CEO Dani Reiss. The apparel brand also points to increased direct-to-consumer revenue as a source of increased margins, as Canada Goose doesn’t have to split costs with a retailer as is the case with wholesale revenue. Gross margins for the quarter were 55.8%, up from 50.6% last year.
- Macy’s Inc. (No. 6) reported double-digit online growth for the third quarter ending Nov. 3, but didn’t break out exact numbers. During the quarter, the apparel department store expanded its in-store pickup options, and ship-to-store use has seen greater than expected use, according to CEO Jeff Gennette. The ship-to-store success is partially attributed to the introduction of vendor-direct sales, which launched in April and has expanded the number of different products available to Macy’s online customers. These items, not usually stocked in Macy’s stores, can be shipped to stores for free for pickup by customers.