Home Depot stores eye store-intelligence tech to boost execution
Home Depot is already using computer vision in U.S. stores to spot products on shelves and overhead, a sign that store intelligence is moving from pilot to daily execution.
Home Depot’s next round of store-tech bets looks less like a shiny experiment and more like a fix for the grind of daily retail. The company already uses computer vision in U.S. stores to show where product is located, including on shelves and in overhead space, so associates can be directed to tasks more strategically and on-shelf availability can improve.
That matters because the friction in a Home Depot store is rarely abstract. An inaccurate count, a missed location scan, a slow pickup handoff or a gap in floor coverage can turn into a lost sale fast, especially when contractors are trying to keep a job moving and weekend customers are trying to get one project done before Monday. Coresight Research’s The State of In-Store Retailing 2026, published May 28, argues that retailers are still wrestling with store operations and are increasingly turning to store-intelligence technology to reduce inefficiencies, strengthen execution and improve both customer experience and associate productivity. The report also says sequencing matters, a reminder that technology only helps if it fits the order in which stores actually work.
For Home Depot, that sequencing question lands on inventory visibility, task prioritization, pickup, staffing coverage and checkout flow. The company said in its fiscal 2025 annual report that stores remain the core of the business and that knowledgeable associates and on-shelf availability are critical to the store experience. Home Depot also said it is empowering associates by enhancing training and product knowledge, optimizing processes, simplifying tasks and leveraging technology to improve the customer experience. In other words, the goal is not fewer people on the floor; it is more useful time on the floor.
The scale of the business makes that pressure harder to ignore. Home Depot reported $41.4 billion in sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, with comparable sales up 0.2%. It opened 12 new stores in fiscal 2025, ended the year with 2,300 stores and said it had built 37 new stores over the prior three years. The company had laid out an 80-store build plan over five years at its 2023 Investor and Analyst Conference and expects to keep opening 15 to 20 stores a year after that plan ends in 2027.
The pro business shows how the same logic extends beyond the sales floor. Home Depot’s Pro Xtra program includes project planning tools, inventory checks, customized delivery and digital wallet checkout features, while the Pro Desk helps source supplies, place custom orders and handle equipment rentals. For store teams, the test is simple: if technology helps find product faster, reduce bottlenecks and keep shelves, aisles and pickup workflows cleaner, it is doing real work. If not, it is just another system to manage.
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