Lowe’s Companies Inc. reported $20.9 billion in sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, a slight year-over-year decline that was nonetheless stronger than expected.
While consumer spending on do-it-yourself (DIY) home improvement projects continues to soften, sales to professional contractors — whom Lowe’s calls “Pros” — grew by mid-single digits, helping offset lower foot traffic from casual customers.
“Our Pro customer remains very active,” said chairman and CEO Marvin Ellison on the retailer’s earnings call. “They’re benefiting from a healthy backlog of work and continue to drive consistent demand across key categories like building materials, plumbing, and tools.”
Lowe’s is No. 11 in the Top 2000 Database, which ranks North America’s largest online retailers by annual ecommerce sales. The retailer is in the Hardware & Home Improvement category. Digital Commerce 360 projects Lowe’s online sales will reach $11.48 billion in 2025.
Lowe’s online sales grow in Q1
Same-store sales declined 1.7% in the quarter, reflecting softer DIY trends and a tough comparison to last year’s strong spring season. But Lowe’s continues to focus on long-term growth, particularly among Pros, where it has seen steady momentum over the past three years.
Lowe’s has invested heavily to become a more dependable partner to professionals in the construction, maintenance, and remodeling trades. These efforts include enhanced inventory management, dedicated service areas, and exclusive digital tools.
“Pros are looking for three things: product availability, speed, and accuracy,” said Joe McFarland, executive vice president of stores. “We’ve worked to remove friction from their experience — both online and in-store.”
Lowe’s online sales grew 6% in Q1, helped by improved navigation and performance across Lowe’s digital platforms. The company noted strong engagement with its mobile app, where Pros and DIYers can check inventory, schedule deliveries, and manage their orders. Increases in both traffic and conversion rates drove Lowe’s online sales growth in Q1.
“We continue to enhance the online experience, especially for time-sensitive customers,” said Seemantini Godbole, executive vice president and chief digital and information officer. “That includes better site search, faster load times, and more personalized recommendations.”
Lowe’s also cited progress in its ecommerce marketplace, powered by Mirakl, which allows third-party vendors to list products on Lowes.com. This model enables Lowe’s to expand its product range without taking on additional inventory risk.
“Our marketplace is designed to complement our core offering — not clutter it,” Godbole said. “We’re adding specialty items and hard-to-find SKUs that meet the needs of both Pros and homeowners.”
Lowe’s digital tools and sales to Pros
One of the company’s standout tools is “Workbench,” a digital platform used by store associates to manage contractor orders, schedule deliveries, and prioritize high-volume requests. Lowe’s says Workbench has become a critical part of its Pro strategy.
“Workbench gives our associates real-time visibility into the Pro order pipeline,” McFarland explained. “That means better service and fewer delays.”
Lowe’s has also expanded its Pro Zone in stores, featuring dedicated checkouts, bulk loading areas, and job lot quantities of building essentials. Lowe’s designed these areas to help Pros get in and out quickly with everything they need for the job site.
“We want to be the easiest and fastest retailer for Pros to do business with,” Ellison said. “And we’re seeing clear signs that these efforts are paying off.”
Sales to Pros grew by a mid-single-digit percentage during the quarter. While Lowe’s does not break out the exact share of revenue from Pros, executives say it now represents a larger portion of the overall business compared to a year ago.
Recent acquisition
In April, Lowe’s announced the planned acquisition of Artisan Design Group (ADG) for $1.325 billion. ADG specializes in flooring, countertop and cabinet installations for homebuilders and property managers across 22 states.
“This acquisition gives us a stronger foothold in the new construction and multi-family housing markets,” Ellison said. “ADG has deep relationships with top national builders. Combining their installation expertise with our product reach creates a powerful end-to-end solution.”
Lowe’s expects the deal to close later this year and plans to operate ADG as a separate business unit. The move signals a strategic push beyond retail, giving Lowe’s more influence in upstream homebuilding activity and large-scale renovations.
Lowe’s taps gig drivers for delivery
During the quarter, Lowe’s successfully executed its “Mulch Madness” promotion, selling over 5 million bags of mulch. To deliver those orders, the company tapped into gig-based delivery services, freeing up its core truck fleet for large-volume contractor shipments.
“We’re getting smarter about how we move product, especially during seasonal peaks,” McFarland said. “That flexibility improves the customer experience without disrupting job-site delivery schedules.”
Lowe’s full-year guidance
Despite a slow start to spring and ongoing caution from consumers, Lowe’s reaffirmed its full-year guidance. The company expects fiscal 2025 revenue between $83.5 billion and $84.5 billion, with operating margins stable around 13.4%.
“We’ve done all the math and based on the current tariff environment, we feel very comfortable that we’ll be able to deliver the financial guidance,” Ellison said.
He said that as inflation eases and home values stabilize, customers are expected to resume more planned maintenance and improvement projects.
“Homes are still aging, and deferred maintenance doesn’t go away,” he said. “We’re confident that both the Pro and DIY customer will return to more normalized spending over time. In the meantime, we’re staying laser-focused on execution.”
Percentage changes may not align due to rounding. Check back for more earnings reports. Here’s last quarter’s update on Lowe’s online sales.
Sign up
Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News. It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact Mark Brohan, senior vice president of B2B and Market Research, at mark@digitalcommerce360.com. Follow him on Twitter @markbrohan. Follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and YouTube.