Home Depot Sees Lift from Smaller Projects Amid Slumping Housing Market

Home Depot reported improved sales in its second quarter as customers shifted focus to smaller projects amidst a stagnant US housing market. The home improvement retailer's revenue rose to $47.86 billion, surpassing Wall Street's expectations of $47.24 billion.

The company saw a 1.7% increase in global sales at stores open for at least a year and a 1.3% rise in comparable store sales within the US. Customers continued to engage in smaller projects, with transactions decreasing by only 1% but average spend increasing to $92.50 per receipt.

According to Neil Saunders of GlobalData, 'the number of bigger-ticket projects undertaken remains down, falling by 2.1% over last year.' This decline is attributed to concerns around financing and the previous lack of moving activity, which are major drags on the bigger-ticket segment.