Home Depot forecast low sales growth for 2020, just weeks after the home-improvement retailer cut its outlook for the 2019 fiscal year due to disappointment over its e-commerce investments, Reuters reports. The retailer forecast fiscal 2020 sales growth of about 3.5% to 4%, about a full percentage point lower than analyst expectations.
The company has been investing heavily in its e-commerce business by adding automated lockers in its stores to keep shoppers from moving online and has developed a more user-friendly website under its “One Home Depot” program. Home Depot is also ramping up its supply chain to speed up delivery as it wrestles with competition from smaller rival Lowe’s, which has been gaining market share in a tough retail environment.
Last month, Home Depot said the strategy was not yet generating as much revenue as it had expected, prompting it to cut its 2019 sales forecast for the second time.
Chief Executive Officer Craig Menear said the company was confident that investments in the One Home Depot will address the evolving needs of customers.
“We are building on our distinct competitive advantages to capitalize on a large and fragmented market opportunity,” he said.
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