Clever Tricks To Save You Money At Home Depot
The home improvement industry is projected to hit somewhere in the neighborhood of $600 billion by 2027, an increase of about $56 billion from 2023 sales numbers. That's according to Statista, and with the average consumer spending just over $90 per visit in 2023, Home Depot sits atop the list of companies set to beneift. Home Depot was founded in 1978 by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank as the ultimate hardware store. It has since expanded over 40 years to comprise 2,300 stores across the Americas, with 475,000 employees and an average of about 105,000 square feet per store housing 35,000 products. That doesn't even consider the company's online warehouse, boasting 1 million products on its e-commerce platform.
The store is among American dad's favorite places to shop for hardware and home improvement supplies according to a 2017 YouGov survey of the top ten dad brands in the U.S., In which Home Depot earned eighth place. During Covid closures when people were spending more time at home and busied themselves with home improvement projects, Home Depot made $47 billion more over three years, only contracting by about 4.2% in 2023. To help you avoid overspending, these clever hacks will save you money at Home Depot.
Don't buy short-term items you can rent
IBISWorld places the tool and equipment rental market at around $4.7 billion in 2023, representing a loss of under 2% for that year and a loss of over 1% per year from 2018 to 2023. We read that as meaning fewer people are choosing to rent tools or equipment and are instead purchasing them outright. There are things you should never buy brand new and things you should never buy used if you can help it. Where short-term or one-off projects are concerned, tools are the rare item to make both lists.
Home Depot offers tool and equipment rental seven days a week at over 1,000 locations for as little as four hours or monthly. A government-issued ID and a working credit card are all you need to take advantage of this service, which also gives you the option of damage protection for just 15% of the rental price. Aside from the money you can save renting rather than purchasing a professional tool or major piece of equipment — rentals are 5 to 10% of the purchase price — you also get the satisfaction of upcycling excellent equipment. Renting a tool after 6 pm is priced at four hours if you return it by 9 am the next morning. This is perfect for late evening or overnight projects. Just keep in mind the savings on cheaper rental items are negligible. Try this for more expensive items.
Take a free DIY workshop
Nothing will save you money on a home renovation project like avoiding contractors and doing the work yourself. A study on the home improvement market by Technavio shows a lot of people have figured that out. The market is expected to grow to almost $52 billion between 2024 and 2028, with more consumers taking on home improvement projects themselves due to the ease of online purchases, free and faster delivery and pick-up, and ready-to-assemble furniture making the thought of doing so less stressful. While interior design is on the mind of consumers driving this market, so is the environment, and greening their homes with building materials and products helps address that.
Aside from saving some cash, some of the less obvious benefits of taking on DIY projects include learning new technical and problem-solving skills and getting to spend more time at home with family as you work on projects together. The value of DIY renovations goes beyond the upfront cost savings. Just painting your front door black or charcoal grey can raise the appreciative value of your home by over $6,000. Just keep in mind there are home trends not worth the money, and although Home Depot offers several DIY workshops online, that doesn't mean you should take on home improvement projects you'll lose money on. That just defeats the purpose of doing the work yourself.
Buy Oops paint to save on painting projects
The paint industry continues to expand in both the amateur and professional markets at a staggering rate. According to the Home Improvement Research Institute, paint and preservatives for the professional and consumer market generated $13.7 billion and $14.9 billion respectively, with demand only expected to grow up to 2026 between 1% and 4%. The majority of purchases — 84% to be exact — occur in-store, with the convenience of location and the ability to shop for everything in the same place as the main drivers. This makes Home Depot's "Oops" paint program a winner.
Oops Paint is a can of paint that's been mixed with the wrong colors at the paint counter, and is resold at heavily discounted prices as a result. A gallon of Oops paint, for instance, might sell for five dollars per gallon. Perusing Home Depot's paint department online shows a regular gallon of Behr Marquee Paint and Primer selling for $55.98. In comparison to Oops paint, that's a $50 or 100% discount. Aside from saving money, the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection suggests recycling or upcycling paint keeps 10% of paint sold in the U.S. — 64 million gallons annually — out of landfills or other places when disposed of improperly. Home improvement lovers have a whole TikTok stream dedicated to extolling the virtues of Oops paint but buy it in person, as paint is a product you should always buy in-store.
Search for discounts on local ads
Research conducted by Claremont Graduate University found that the oxytocin levels of consumers offered a discount rose by 38%, while stress levels, measured by heart rate, respiration, and sweat, decreased. This led to a positive association with the company offering the discount, and people who were offered the discount were 11% happier than consumers who weren't. With Home Depot, you can feel 11% happier every day.
Home Depot offers regular discounted prices on thousands of items that may change based on your location. In the age of e-commerce, you can access the daily deals offered in the Local Ad section on the website. Once there, you can browse the virtual flyer for deals relative to your location. For instance, if you live in Niagara Falls, New York, there's currently an exclusive deal on Ryobi power tools and equipment offering several products perfect for maintaining your home or garden. There's also discounted patio furniture and barbecue grills you can have assembled and delivered to your home for free. While this is a great offer for anyone, it would be especially worthwhile for tech-savvy senior citizens who are on tight budgets and don't want to spend their time in traffic or waiting in lines.
Put the lowest price guarantee to the test
Home Depot's guaranteed low price offers customers two ways, in-store and online, to get the best price for the product they want. If you can find the same product you need cheaper elsewhere, Home Depot will match that price on any online purchase so long as the other store also ships that product to your location. Even better, Home Depot will include the price of the competing store's shipping in their pricing. For in-store purchases, the same rules apply so long as you can prove the lower price for the same product exists, either by providing the ad or a verifiable copy of the ad on your phone or print. If it comes to it, Home Depot may even reach out to the competing store to verify the pricing, so trying to pull a fast one would be both unethical and just a bad idea. While there are a few caveats — items can't be seasonal, discontinued, part of a promotion, or include labor and installation costs — it's still a good opportunity to save some money if you're prepared to do some research first.
If you're considering going this route with your next Home Depot purchase, make use of this Shopify list of price comparison apps and websites. Companies like Shopzilla and Google Shopping are explained in detail and will help make the process of comparison pricing easier.
Check out the Clearance aisle
Clearance sales allow retailers to make some money on items that may not be moving out the doors fast enough, allowing the consumer to get an incredible deal on a product. Aside from the cost savings, clearance sales give you a chance to purchase a variety of decent quality items at lower prices and have the added benefit of reducing waste. While there are things you should always pay for with a credit card, something bought at a clearance sale isn't one. Credit card fees, interest, and the fact that some businesses charge you extra for using a credit card negates some of the value of your deal, especially if you can afford to pay for it in full. You may also not want to purchase something you don't plan on using often or haven't used before. Aside from paying for something you'll have buyer's remorse for later if you weren't planning on buying that item, you've essentially already spent more money than you planned on spending that day. So before you visit the clearance aisle, make sure you're actually in the market for something.
Home Depot has an online clearance, where you can find items at reduced prices. This is a smart strategy on the store's part since retailers in the U.S. raked in $793 billion in the first three quarters of 2023.
Free shipping and pick-up on selected items
A study by CapitalOne shows that 93% of us will buy more products to qualify for free shipping and that 66% expect free shipping as a rule. Where online shopping is concerned, 76% of us are more motivated to complete a purchase when we know that shipping is free and 86% consider free shipping a deciding factor in where we shop online. Many consider the cost of shipping even more important than the speed at which they receive the item.
Companies like Home Depot recognize the true value of free shipping is happier customers and brand loyalty. As such, the store offers different ways to take advantage of the free shipping and delivery option. Picking up items ordered online from a locker or service desk is always free during business hours, you'll just have to bring a government-issued ID and your notification email to pick up your products. The in-store locker option is similar, however, instead of a notification email, Home Depot will provide you with a six-digit PIN and QR code you'll need to access your locker. This is a quick way to get your order without lines or waiting beyond a day. From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Home Depot also offers free curbside pick-up with the Home Depot app. The store also offers free shipping on standard shipping and delivery orders with free two-day delivery on over 2 million online products.
Veteran discounts
The Pew Research Center puts the number of U.S. military veterans alive today at 18 million with the largest number serving within the last 30 years. As 6% of the nation's adult population, any business would be smart to offer them benefits. With a median income of $51,092, the spending power of military veterans in the U.S. amounts to $894.6 billion. Home Depot has provided a military discount for U.S. veterans since 1979 on select products with up to $400 in annual savings on 10% discounted purchases. If you are a veteran, it's relatively easy to become a member of the program. Create an account, verify your identification and military service, and then you're free to use your 10% discount every time you log in to your account. While most appliances aren't part of the offer, veterans can still buy appliances through a partnership with Military Exchanges which offers tax-free exclusive pricing to retired and active members of the military. If you're a veteran whose spouse does the majority of the shopping for the household, you'll be glad to know that Home Depot's veteran discount is also extended to them.
Wait for holiday sales
When you consider how much Americans spend on Christmas shopping or how much they spend on Black Friday, it's unsurprising how many of us end up in debt after the holidays. Even with a tough economic year weighed down by inflation and uncertainty, holiday sales in the U.S. still grew from November through Christmas Eve of 2023 by 3.1%. According to Reuters, discount retail ruled Thanksgiving in 2023, with shoppers spending $38 billion in online purchases bolstered by 121 million in-store shoppers. Cyber Monday's $940 million in sales through Buy Now Pay Later installment platforms like Klarna set sales records. It's paying later where the problems start, and 37% of holiday shoppers expected it would take over two months to pay off the debt incurred over the holidays.
Shopping at Home Depot is one way to stay out of debt after holiday shopping, considering that almost 7 out of 10 consumers expected to overspend before the last holiday season. Holidays are the best times to shop for large appliances like refrigerators, since the savings are truly worth the chaos. President's Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, the Fourth of July, and of course, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are your best bets for deep discounts on bigger items. Home Depot cut as much as 40% and up to $500 in savings on appliance purchases on the last Black Friday, and up to $800 off on a recent President's Day.
Join the Promo Text Program and email newsletter
While not the biggest money saver on this list, cumulatively, this can add up to big savings. The Promo Text Program allows for an easy online registration whereby Home Depot will text you random opportunities to save five dollars on select items up to 10 times a month. Depending on how often you utilize it, this could add up to $50 per month, or $600 a year in savings. Now just because you can, doesn't mean you should, and stopping a compulsive spending habit is always a good idea. Companies like Home Depot understand that 80% of us are more likely to try a new product if there's a discount applied, whether it's a product we actually need or not.
Aside from the program, if you don't mind the occasional newsletter being sent to your inbox, you can always sign up for Home Depot's newsletter. Just by being on the list, you can take advantage of a five-dollar discount when you spend $50 or more.
Become a Home Depot Pro Xtra if you're a contractor
This one is for the 35,625 contractors in the U.S. who want to keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets. According to ServiceTitan, the Home Depot Pro Xtra program is easy to join online with some basic information about what you do and the discounted goods and services you are most interested in. From there, a virtual workbench will store your purchase history, business tools, and credit card information. The rewards program offers professional contractors deals on big bulk spends of $1,500 or more on everything from lumber to drywall. Special discounts are also applied to paint purchases in tranches of $2,000, $4,000, and $7,500 or more, with 10%, 15%, and 20% knocked off your total spend. Other perks include free delivery to the job site, free tinting and color matching, and the option of quick call-in orders so you can spend your time getting the job done instead of running across town for more supplies. In an industry where, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 97% of contractors have felt the impact of material cost fluctuations and 46% expect to spend more on tools and equipment, any discounts a contractor can access is a win.