Home Depot's Holiday Sales Grew 300 Percent Since 2006
Since Home Depot began selling holiday goods in 2006, it has increased its number of SKUs from 50 to 500.
Home Depot has been selling Christmas decorations for only five years, the mass merchant's home newspaper Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, but it is seeing considerable success.
The paper describes a scenario familar to garden centers – a slow winter season when compared to a booming spring season. Sales have increased 300 percent from that first year and the number of inventory items has grown tenfold from 50 to 500 items. An analyst with Sageworks Inc told the Journal-Constitution that sales are likely to increase again this year, since holiday sales trends are up overall. Mike Lubanksy, the analyst, says the upward trend partially stems from stores setting up earlier for Christmas. With a category that is as prone to impulse buys as holiday is, that makes a difference to overall sales.
Home Depot's merchandising vice president over live goods and landscape, Scott Manning, told the paper some categories are a better fit for mass merchants. Categories like yard inflatables and other large items need space. But the chain also sells items like wrapping paper, holiday welcome mats, ornaments and artificial and live trees.
