Home improvement shoppers spend more, demand better value and trust

Home-improvement shoppers are spending more, but they are also judging every dollar harder. J.D. Power’s 2026 U.S. Home Improvement Retailer Satisfaction Study put overall satisfaction at 672 on a 1,000-point scale, just 1 point higher than 2025, even as average spend climbed to $1,617, up $278 from a year earlier.

The real signal for store teams is not just the higher ticket. Satisfaction improved in clinics, delivery, installation and rentals, the parts of the trip that turn a cart into a finished project. At the same time, value for price paid and trust declined. For a retailer like Home Depot, that means the customer is not simply buying products, but also buying confidence that the job will get done right.

The study was based on responses from 2,231 customers who bought home-improvement products in the prior 12 months and measured eight dimensions: additional services, digital tools, level of trust, people, product and supplies, return policy and process, store and facility, and value given price paid. Menards ranked highest overall, a reminder that execution and service now sit squarely in the competitive mix.

That dynamic lines up with Home Depot’s own priorities. In its 2025 annual report, the company said it is focused on customer service, product authority, knowledgeable associates and a frictionless interconnected experience. It also said knowledgeable associates and on-shelf availability are critical to the store experience, and that it is empowering associates with training, product knowledge, simplified tasks and technology.

The company’s financial results show why that matters. Home Depot reported fiscal 2025 sales of $164.7 billion and comparable sales growth of 0.3%, with average ticket up 1.4% and transaction counts slightly lower. In the third quarter of fiscal 2025, sales rose to $41.4 billion, while comparable sales increased just 0.2%. That leaves fewer easy wins from traffic alone, and more pressure on every interaction in the aisle, at the pro desk and on the phone.

Home Depot has also been adding tools aimed at making service faster and more reliable. In 2026, it expanded its partnership with Google Cloud with agentic AI tools for homeowners and professional customers. It also said a new Gemini-based phone support system made store phone support four times faster. In February 2026, the company created a store-level operations experience manager role to manage interconnected shopping and fulfillment processes. Last November, it launched Blueprint Takeoffs, which generates complete materials lists and quotes for single-family projects in days rather than weeks.

For associates, department leads and store managers, the message is clear. Clinics, delivery, installation, rentals, product availability and fast, informed answers are no longer extras. They are part of the value customers say they are paying for, and part of the trust Home Depot has to earn on every shift.