New York
CNN
—
Americans turned into DIY fanatics during the pandemic, beautifying their apartments, homes and condos while they were stuck inside and tired of looking at the same drab interior every day.
But the Covid emergency is over, prices are (much) higher, consumers are growing fearful of a recession and people are spending less at Lowe’s and Home Depot.
Lowe’s on Tuesday lowered its profit and sales outlook for the year, saying consumers were spending less on home improvement. It comes on the heels of rival Home Depot also posting disappointing sales and a somber forecast last week.
“We are updating our full-year outlook to reflect softer-than-expected consumer demand for discretionary purchases,” said Ellison. “We remain optimistic about the medium-to-long-term outlook for home improvement.”
Shares of Lowe’s
(LOW) were up 2% Tuesday.
That optimism also hinges on pursuing a different customer, where having rural stores “gives us an opportunity to drive sustainable profit growth due to the much lower expense base,” said Ellison.
The end of a protracted robust investment by homeowners in DIY home improvement projects during the pandemic has forced Lowe’s and rival Home Depot to look for ways to…
