Home Depot Engagement Up 238% With Personalization Data

Need to Know

• Home Depot has boosted customer engagement by 238% by focusing on personalization and user experience.
• The home improvement retailer recently invested $11 billion in a three-year digital transformation project.
• A new partnership allows brands to target Home Depot shoppers based on metrics such as “homeownership, household income, marital status, and purchasing power.”
• Despite increased personalization and improved user experience, consumers still have mixed feelings about sharing personal data.

Analysis

Thanks to a recently revamped mobile app, Home Depot has boosted customer engagement by 238%. 

In 2017, Home Depot unveiled a plan to invest $11 billion into a digital transformation. The retailer partnered with consumer identity management firm Infutor and marketing firm Vibes to improve its user experience and optimize mobile engagement. 

The new software matches customer profiles with expanded data, giving brands access to consumer attributes such as “homeownership, household income, marital status, and purchasing power.” Enriched customer profiles allow for more personalized interactions and therefore, increased conversions. 

Because of the streamlined experience, Home Depot is able to match a customer identity from a single data point. 

But the app also improves functionality for the user, operating like “a virtual customer service agent who helps shoppers with inventory information and visual item mapping data for in-store navigation.”  The app allows users to sort through search results with advanced filtering and even provides augmented reality and 360-degree view experiences to assist in making purchasing decisions. 

Because of its advanced functionality and strong user experience, last year Home Depot was ranked No. 1 in a study of retailer mobile apps. 

Despite the rapid onset of personalization into our day-to-day lives, consumers still have mixed feelings about the use of personal data. One study showed that consumers are “less willing to share personal information — such as gender, ​race, marital status, employment status, sexual orientation and citizenship status — for personalized ads.” 

Many consumers are also less willing than they were in the past to share so much as an email address. But there’s no denying that tech is here to stay — and here to help. 

The home improvement retailer has also implemented new tech to help with hiring.

After launching Candidate Self Service, nearly one million store and supply chain candidates have used the app to schedule their own job interviews. The new tech helps move candidates through the hiring process more quickly. 

Home Depot plans to hire 80,000 new associates with the help of the new tech. 

As part of its digital transformation, Home Depot has also committed to hiring 1,000 additional IT staff and has revamped its website to prioritize targeting B2B sales.