Home Depot's Five-Quarter Streak of Falling Customer Transactions

Home Depot's recent financial reports reveal a concerning trend: for five consecutive quarters, customer transactions have declined. Despite a 4.8% year-over-year increase in sales to $41.8 billion in the fiscal first quarter, the count of purchases at stores and websites open at least a year fell 1.3%. This marks the fifth straight quarterly decline.

Total transactions reached 391.1 million for the quarter, down from 394.8 million a year earlier. The average ticket size has increased, however, with customers spending an average of $92.76 per transaction in the most recent quarter, up 2.3% from a year ago.

The company's revenue growth is not coming from more transactions but rather from bigger receipts and acquisitions. Home Depot bought SRS Distribution, a supplier to professional contractors, in June 2024, and added building-products distributor GMS last year. These deals are boosting sales without affecting the numbers above.

CEO Ted Decker stated that 'the underlying demand in our business was relatively similar to what we saw throughout fiscal 2025, despite greater consumer uncertainty and housing affordability pressure.' This suggests that customers are putting off projects that require a loan or a home sale.