Much faster

The world’s two largest home centre chains, Home Depot and Lowe’s, sold more than $ 1 bn of online products last year and both are going after web sales even more aggressively this year. But they aren’t the only ones seeking to reach and satisfy the online buyer. What is interesting is that online sales aren’t being made just in a retailer’s own country; they are often made to buyers around the world. Indeed, some web-only retailers emphasize their ability to satisfy customer needs anywhere. While Depot’s web sales exceeded those of Lowe’s last year ($ 635 mio compared with $ 510 mio), Lowe’s web sales increased by 70 per cent, while those of Depot were up only 15.27 per cent. In 2011, Lowe’s made a major commitment to increase web sales. It redesigned and improved its web site and saw web sales increase by $ 210 mio, whereas Depot’s web sales grew only $ 39 mio in the same period. These facts are based on information contained in the compilation of the Top 500 online retailers by Internet Retailer magazine. In the United States, online sales came to more than five per cent of all retail sales in the second quarter of 2012, topping $ 54 bn in that period, according to the US Department of Commerce. What’s most impressive is that the rate of online sales is growing much faster than that of traditional retailing. While traditional retailing of all types of merchants grew at a 4.3 per cent rate on a year-to-year basis, online sales soared by 15.3 per cent. Merchants selling hardware and home centre products on the web are also doing well. Web sales reached $ 4.4 bn in 2011, up 24.17 per cent from the previous year. Housewares and home furnishings at $ 4.5 bn can be added as well, since some of these products are also sold in hardware stores and home centres. The result is a volume of about $ 9 bn in online sales. Who are the major online retailers in the hardware/home centre category? Obviously Amazon would have to be included in as much as it sells those products. Other retailers whose categories include a substantial number of hardware/home centre products are Walmart, number four, and Sears Holdings, number eight. Download: