Home Depot Audit

THE HOME DEPOTAn Audit

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HOME DEPOT AUDIT 3

THE HOME DEPOTAn Audit

2013 Hilary Braun, Jared Fancy, Libby Herskovitz, Becky Margraf

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Printed in The United States of America

Past Experiences

First In-Store Audit

Second In-Store Audit

Research Methodologies

Third In-Store Audit

Fourth In-Store Audit

Conclusions

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CONTENTSTABLE OF

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Good research requires objective anal-ysis of observable fact. When discuss-ing the impact and efficacy of a brand, however, subjective impressions and anecdotal evidence have their place. After all, a consumers perceptions affect a brand regardless of whether those perceptions are rooted in fact or myth. If a perception is beneficial to the brand but rooted in myth, it ought to be bolstered in one way or another. Conversely, if a perception rooted in fact is deleterious to a brand, then ef-forts must be made to dispel it. To that end, our team sat down to discussed our perceptions of the brand, and asked third parties1 for their perceptions. We found that, generally, non-professional consumers think of Home Depot primarily as a ware-housemeaning that the sales experi-

ence was secondary to having the right products in stockproducts that could only be found at Home Depot or its competitors2. Paradoxically, we found that while Home Depots employees are perceived as friendly and knowl-edgeable, consumers described feelings of helplessness and frustration about the warehouses shopping and naviga-tion processes. Our findings will shed light on this paradox, address the further issues affecting Home Depots brand, and pro-vide a firm basis for our team to recom-mend solutions. Before we entered the store, we made specific guidelines of the goals for each trip, the materials we would need to bring to achieve these goals and the ways we could record our experience.

PAST EXPERIENCES

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1.

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Many Home Depots are located in the suburbs3, where most people travel by car. Our team visited one of Home Depots city-based locations in Bos-tons South Bay Plaza, which requires a bus ride of approximately 45 minutes from central Boston, with a fare of $1.50 each way. The bus drops custom-ers off in an enormous parking lot shared by the department stores that populate the plaza, including: Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Olive Garden, Panera, andof courseHome Depot. Upon entering the Home Depot, we were greeted by an associate who handed us a flyer and told us to let him know if we found anything. The as-sociate was friendly, but the welcome felt somewhat tired and rehearsed, as if hed been greeting customers for a long while. Our intention was to test

the limits of Home Depots associates by attempting to buy a snowblower. For this initial visit, we determined to be receptive to the sales experience and record our observations. Home Depot is a warehouse-style department store, certainly falling under the somewhat unfavorable category of big-box chain. The floors are concrete and the ceilings are enor- mously high to accommodate shelves stacked with stock, which true to the style of a warehouseis all presented on the floor, rather than being hidden away in a stockroom. The store is lit brightly with fluorescent and ventilated by ceiling fans. Bareness seems to be an essential part of Home Depots store brandit allows the product to speak for itself. Their signature orange is the most oft-used color in signage and each

FIRST IN-STORE AUDIT Saturday, September 15, 2012; 11:00 a.m.

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associate wears an orange smock. Accent colors, such as yellow and blue, often refer to construction sites and construction materials. Price labels tend to be hand-written or made to look as such. Gen products are orga-nized within their appropriate categories, but special and seasonal displays tend to be disorganized, confusing, and startlingly informal. As you walk through the store you can hear radio tunes playing and the beeping of the forklift as it is driven around the store. Many of Home Depots products have display units with which the customer can interact, and some units can even be tested out. For example, the drill aisle dis-played all units available for purchase and even featured a kiosk where customers could drill into a piece of wood. All of this contributes to Home Depots utilitarian, no-nonsense atmosphere. Forklifts travel the same paths as customers to deliver stock that is as plainly visible as the units on display; loading areas for larger puchases are designated with clear signage at the front and back of the store. And while music plays in the aisles, its the standard top 40s fare that can easily be tuned out. Our team observed that customers can be divided into two major categories. First is the professional: generally a contractor, carpenter or other construction worker, who knows exactly what he wants, knows the layout of the store, and has detailed technical questions for the associates. The second type of customer is the non-professional: someone who is attempting to solve a home problem, complete a do-it-yourself project, or purchase a specific product. The non-professional rarely visits Home Depot, is not technically trained, and may not know what he or she really needs. As we walked the aisles, we noticed that every associate was engaged in conversation with both groups of customers. Associates

Bareness seems to be an essential part of Home Depots in-store brandit allows the product to speak for itself.

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PROFESSIONAL Carpenters, plumbers, gardeners

NON-PROFESSIONAL Weekend Warriors,

Frequent Home Depot visitor; regularly picks up items during the work week Generally know the items that they want and where they are If they do have questions, they are more in-depth or complicated than the non-professional Have an idea about the cost of the items they need to purchase during their trip

Rarely hops at Home Depot Not technically trained; needs advice to complete a project Usually shopping trips are a result of a d.i.y. project around their home May not know the items that they need for a specific project Not always aware of project or product costs Needs someone who can help answer questions simply

CUSTOMER TYPES

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tended to be very hands-onshowing customers what a product was for, and different ways they could use it. Because our plan had been to first ask an employee about buying a snow-blower during our next visit, we were on the lookout for the product from the very start. However, we had some

difficulty finding them. At first, we thought that September might be too early in the fall season for the product on display. As we began our second loop around the store, we saw we that had walked right passed them at the entrance; our view had been obstruct-ed by tall stacks of cleaning products.

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It was troubling that such a large and expensive item was so difficult to find. Upon entering, it wasnt clear what category snowblowers might be under, whether the item would be inside or outside, or whether they were in stock at all. When we finally found themin a poorly-organized seasonal displaybut there were only eight machines, and their names and prices were handwritten in permanent marker on signs that prevented customers from seeing the whole product. No information about the machines was provided beyond what could be found on the manufacturers labels. As our team walked the perimeter of the warehouse, we noticed a framed employee smock with badges denot-ing that stores associates years of experience. After observing the associates interactions with customers, it seemed to us that Home Depot hires people with a working knowledge of the stores products. Based on our preconceived impressions of the Home Depot brand, we had expected that most associates would be male. But we found that both males and females were equally represented, although female employees were more often found in cashiering or customer service positions. Before leaving, we made purchases using both the regular checkout and self- checkout systems. The self- checkout was quick, but when Becky had decided to ask an associate for a price-check on an item whose price was inconsistent with its tag, the associate only made one cursory check and insisted that their systems price was correct, even though the item was marked as a sale item. So, as with any type of operation in retail, the customer experience is very dependent on the individual employee and his or her training.

Visit Takeaways Hands on employees Difficult to navigate around store Limited snowblower selection in store Importance of employee years of experience Price check inconsistencies

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2.

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Our team returned for our next audit around eight oclock on a Thursday night. While we were there, we devel-oped an activity analysis map and an error analysis list. In the Activity Analysis map, we listed all the tasks, interactions, and performers that might be involved while attempting to buy a snowblower. The error analysis list accounted for everything that could go wrong during our attempt. The plan was for the four of us to wander the floor in groups of two, with each member of a group pretending not to know the other. While one team member interacted with an associate, the other would observe and record the interaction. We brought our cameras, notebooks, voice recorders, and video cameras as observational tools. As in the first visit, we determined not to

initiate contact, and wait until we were approached by an associate. The snowblower display had been changed dramatically: some items had moved, and they were now labelled with professional signage and detailed infographics that communicated the specifications of each machine. There was a kiosk nearby that functioned as a general guide to buying a snowblower and as a reference for the infographics. We noticed dangling ropes where signs might be hung to label the aisle. After about five to seven minutes of walking through the aisles, Hilary was approached by a young male associate who asked if she might need help from him. His name, Jeff, was written in Sharpie on his smock. Hilary explained that she had some questions about snowblow-ers. Jeff claimed that those werent his

SECOND IN-STORE AUDIT Thursday, September 27, 2012; 8:00 p.m.

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department, but he paged for assistance and instructed Hilary to approach the Customer Service desk if no help arrived within a few minutes. Hilary waited two min-utes before two male associates arrived, but it appeared that they were unaware of the page; they just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Hilary told them that she was looking for a smaller snowblower that no longer seemed to be in stock. The associatesthen led her to a separate display outside where three more snow-blowers were kept. The associates, who were now joined by Jeff, asked Hilary about where she lived and the size of her driveway, explaining that the smaller snowblower wouldnt be powerful enough for her needs because it was powered electrically. They suggested a return to the display inside to look at more options. The associates were friendly and good-natured throughout the conver-sation, explaining the differences between each model in laymans terms, and being honest when they could not answer a question. When asked what determined the snowblowers cost, Jeff claimed that the intake width and horsepower were the primary factors. But when asked where to find the figures for each machines horsepower, Jeff got on his hands and knees and began to look under the snowblower, despite the figures being available on the infographics directly behind the machine. He spent roughly two minutes searching before Hilary pointed out the infographics, which Jeff claimed not to have noticed. While the employees were friendly and willing to help, there seemed to be a disconnect between depart-ments, and it was troubling that a product that was given enough attention to warrant infographics had not been explained to each of the stores associates.

Visit Takeaways Employees are willing to help but not always fully informed No difficulty being approached in later hours of the evening. Employees are good natured and friendly

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While the employees were friendly and willing to help, there seemed to be a disconnect between departments...

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES

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ERROR ANALYSIS Listing everything that could go wrong in your experience

I may not be approached by an associate in the store I might not be able to find the product while I shop I might not speak English well I might not understand the terms they use for snowblowers I could be turned off by the atmosphere in the store The store might appear closed from the outside I might have trouble understanding the aisle terms I could get off on the wrong stop on the bus, train or other transportation method An employee could say some thing that offends me There could be no price tags or incorrect price tags I could buy a product, realize I dont want it and return it A person with kids might not feel comfortable with them running around I might forget my credit card, wallet or money

FLY ON THE WALL Observe/record behavior within its context without interrupting

Guy with buddy needs a specific fit and size of wood. Home Depot doesnt have it in store. Home Depot associate says he doesnt have the exact product he needs but has something close that he can take home and sand it down so it will fit snugly with what he has. The men have casual conversation about the pros and cons. Customer says he didnt give him an answer but gave him a solution. Says he is glad he was not lied to. I noticed two spanish-speaking interactions between an associate and consumers Many female associates present Guy and girl need a specific knut/bolt for their sink, associate seemed to know a good way to handle their problem Two customer interactions re- garding lightbulbs. Associate had general knowledge of lightbulbs but couldnt answer their specific questions I was asked if I needed assitance on several occasions

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FLOW ANALYSIS Represent flow of information while going through experience of buying a snow-blower. The two lists represent Hilary and Beckys different experiences at Home Depot that branch off after they separated at number 7.

1. Take a bus a. me/passengers b. money c. bus driver d. bus 2. Walk to Home Depot a. see other store options 3. Enter Home Depot a. doors open automatically b. greeted by an employee c. given a flyer 4. Begin looking for snowblowers a. no hanging sign 5. Try to figure out how store aisles are organized/navigation a. signs b. shelves c. follow where others walk 6. Search store for snowblowers a. go through aisles 7. Ask for help a. find employee b. get information c. get uninformed answers d. get moody response

8. Ask questions a. see infographics b. learn deals and savings c. build trust 9. See more snowblowers a. See other products you werent planning on buying as you walk through the store b. Go to outside display 10. Ask questions about accessories a. what add ons are available 11. Influenced to use website a. website is good for what is not in stock in the store b. Employees dont want you to visit competitors 12. Make Purchase a. decide between cashier and self check out b. look at items in check out c. troubleshoot self checkout 13. Leave a. given farewell by employee b. notice people with bigger purchases exit through larger warehouse door by stores side

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7. Look at endcaps and signs a. confusing product names b. difficulty understanding why some things are grouped together in aisles 8. Go up and down aisles until you see snowblower section a. frustrated b. seeking for employee help 9. Check flyer a. look for deals b. compare with other stores c. see other products that you were not intending to buy 10. Find snowblower section a. see snowblower infograph b. infograph only has five options which leads me to think thats all that is in store 11. Consider shopping online a. research Home Depot brand b. compare prices easily c. read customer reviews d. might get conflicting reviews e. might get better information online than in store

12. Decide to make purchase in store a. make guesses about what terms on infographics mean b. try to figure out what features I will use on my own c. might pick an item that has too many things I dont need d. might pick an item with not enough features e. call someone and see if they know answers about certain features/if you will use them 13. Make purchase a. decide whether to self check out or go to a cashier b. get asked about financing options or credit cards c. ask how to trek snowblower to parking lot d. figure out how you could get the snowblower delivered d. pay e. get handed off to person who will bring you purchase to the parking lot and in the car

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3.

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When we came back to Home Depot a third time, the snowblowers had been moved once again. Now, several of the machines were placed in the front area of the store, and others were on display outside. But they were still joined with the infographs we saw on the previous visit. Becky and Libby decided to lead the next interaction while Hilary and Jared to do fly-on-the-wall obsevations. After walking around the store for a couple minutes, Becky and Libby were both approached by a store associate named Brian, whom they asked about snowblowers. Brian went to find Jeff (presumably a different Jeff from the previous weeks visit), who worked in the snowblower department. When Jeff couldnt be located, Brian offered to assist, although he warned Becky and Libby again that it wasnt his depart-

ment and that hed only been working at Home Depot for a year. He made remarks that while he was not the store expert on snowblowers, he should be able to help them with their purchases. Becky and Libby posed as sisters looking at snowblowers to buy for their father. Libby asked questions that the infographics could not answer simply, such as how well each of the snowbl-ower handles slice. Brian had a wealth of knowledge for someone who was working in a different department, and was honest when he did not know the answer to a question. Next Becky asked about the pros and cons of buying on-line and in-store; Brian explained that they dont price-check their websites prices, so its be possible to find better deals online. He explained that a down-side of buying the snowblower online

THIRD IN-STORE AUDIT Thursday, October 4, 2012; 7:00 p.m.

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is that they dont arrive fully assembled. Overall, both Becky and Libby felt that Brian was incredibly helpful and they were provided with enough information to make an informed purchase. Meanwhile, Hilary and Jared ob-served customer interactions that were occurring around the store. The first

interaction was between two apparent professionals and an associate. One of the professionals needed a specific piece of wood that was the right size and fit for his project. The associate was an older gentleman and spoke with the men at great length in order to try to understand the problem. The associ-

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ate concluded that Home Depot did not carry precisely what the professional needed, but that they carried something close that could be sanded down to the right size. The conversation felt natural and comfortable, and at the end the associate remarked, Well, you didnt give me the answer I wanted, but you gave a solution. And you didnt lie to me. Direct notes from all of these interactions can be found on the Research Methodolo-gies page. This is an important distinction between the Home Depot associate and most retail associates, who are trained to put sales before customers4; the evidence suggests that Home Depot associates are trained to put customers before sales. Moments later, Hilary witnessed another interaction between a couple and an associate. The couple was look-ing for specific bolts to fix a sink. The associate tried the best he could to offer solutions to their problem, but it was difficult for him to determine the precise issue with the limited details they had, especially considering Home Depots vast selection of screws and bolts. As it was not an expensive item, the couple felt comfortable risking making the inexpensive purchase. Shortly afterward, Hilary noticed customers looking for a light bulb. The light bulb aisle is difficult to navigate because there are many options and features that mean nothing to a layman. A display showed what three kinds of light bulbs and how they would look like in a home settingbut since there were many features listed on the box, it was nonetheless frustrating to determine what distinguished each light bulb from all the others. Both customers asked the associate an exhaustive list of questions that the associate did not seem able to answer. After spending a long time poring over the boxes, they eventually finding an option with which they were happy.

Visit Takeaways Employees are trying to find honest solutions Employees have to be knowledgable to answer customer questions; there is a gap in employee performance Store displays can cause confuse more than help

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4.

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On our final visit, the team sought out an associate to ask about the snow-blowers. During this visit, it was clear that the staff had begun to recognize us. In fact, Jeff, the associate who had helped Hilary with the snowblowers two weeks before this trip, recognized her. We did eventually found a female employee, but we soon realized she was on her lunch break. She referred us to an older associate named Marty, who showed us to the snowblowers and asked questions such as where we were from, how much snow we usually get, and how big our driveway was. Hilary asked Marty about the terms on the infograph signs, the online purchasing process, and the benefits of moving up a price bracket. Marty was enthusi-astic throughout the conversation, and advised Hilary to wait to purchase

FOURTH IN-STORE AUDIT Thursday, October 7, 2012; 12:30 p.m.

until the following week when another model would arrive in the store. He interacted with the product and pulled out his tape measure to show Hilary the clearing width of the snowblower she was interested in. He said that buying in-store was easier than buying online, and that hed be working the following Sunday to answer any other questions she had. After our fourth visit to the store, Hilary decided to conduct extreme user interviews with a tradesperson, Chip and a homeowner, Mike, so she could compare both their experiences at Lowes and Home Depot. Chip is an experienced landscaper who manages difficult projects around the house. He admitted he prefers Lowes to Home Depot because it is organized in a manner that is more logical to him as

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TRADESPERSON Chip, 53

HOMEOWNER Mike, 35

Prefers Lowes because the layout is easier to navigate and organized in a way that would make sense to someone who is a tradesperson Lowes employees are always ready and wanting to help Lowes employees know the whole store, not just their specific department Lowes stocks their product more frequently

Lowes is easier to navigate as a homeowner Items are not where you would expect them to be Frustrated that no one tried to help him When he does talk to Home Depot employees, he has good experiences, but believes Home Depot is understaffed com- pared to Lowes

INTERVIEWS

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a trades person and a homeowner. He also told her that Lowes was better staffed and the product was stocked with everything from the specifics he needs for a project to everyday home products, making it easy for him to do one-stop shopping. Hilary interviewed Mike, a home-owner. He too felt that Lowes was easier to navigate; he spoke of frustrating experiences not being able to find tape in the adhesives aisle in Home Depot and eventu-ally finding it somewhere that seemed totally unrelated5. These interviews supported other research that found navigation to be an issue at Home Depot. Part of our fourth week audit, we included an analysis of the Home Depot website. As a group, we had moni-tored the website from the beginning of the project, but did not do an in-depth comparison of the website and store experience until after our audits were completed. When you land on the Home Depot website, you are bombarded with images, textures and text. The website does not have a clear hierarchy and it can take the user some time to find the search bar or the category they are looking for. When Libby clicked on the outdoor section to find snowblowers, she landed on a page that gave her very short and unhelpful descriptions of snowblow-ers. She found that some of the search options were not as helpful as others. For example, searching by price changed her search results to very specific bolts. When we returned to the website a few weeks after our first visit, we noticed that Home Depot revamped their web-site to match the changes they had made in-store with the infographics for the snowblowers. The inforgraphics had the benefit of being interactive on the site, they had more immediate benefits for customers than those in store. This was a step in the right direction, but we still found that it could be difficult to find this page.

When you first land on the Home Depot page, you are bombarded with images, textures and text.

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The first thing we noticed upon arriving at the Lowes home page was the giant yellow search field, containing sample text, What are you looking for? We found that significantly more pleasant than the not-so-prominent search field without the sample text on the Home Depot website. The Lowes site was not trying as hard as Home Depot to be aesthetically pleasing, it was more utilitarian which feels more appropriate for the customer base. The Lowes website feels fairly boring and standard, but it was still preferable to the confusing over-design of the Home Depot website, which is heavily branded but doesnt actually feel like the Home Depot brand. The background is a wood texture, which makes conceptual sense but dominates the screen with a murky brown. The texture changes with seasons; and that piled on top of all the small item thumbnails adds to all the visual confusion. The functionality of the search and browse system is pretty standard and unremarkable between the two stores websites. The Home Depot website would benefit from keeping certain elements, such as the textures, if it toned down other stylistic embellishments. The hierarchy of the site is the most urgent issue that should be addressed. Also, there is a clash between its over decorated look and the personality of Home Depots stores. Giving the site the utilitarian feel that has shaped their store will improve customer usability and align Home Depots digital pres-ence with their store.

Visit Takeaways Customers trust knowl- edgeable Home Depot staff who build a rapport with them Website needs to rethink its overly decorated and confusing aesthetic Website hierarchy needs to be overhauled

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In 2009, Home Depots slogan changed from You can do it, we can help to

More saving. More doing. With Home Depots prices being so comparable to Lowes and other competitors, customers are looking for Home Depot to set themselves apart in other ways. The experience at Home Depot is the thing that should be marketed with the most emphasis. Customers are looking for an associate who are able answer complicated questions about specific projects. Problems we heard customers ask employees about could not always be easily answered on the internet. If the customer feels confident that Home Depot employees can help them they will choose Home Depot over Lowes, even if it means spending an extra five dollars while in the store. The major issue confronting a non-professional

at Home Depot is navigating the store. The navigational signage is confusing for the average customer and items are not in the aisles where you expect them to be. On our trips we often had random items we wanted to find for our apartments like nails or spackle, and did not know where to begin our search or how to orient ourselves inside the store. The signs in the aisles werent always helpful if they did not list items you were looking for or if you didnt know if your item would belong in the category. This problem could be elim-inated easily by a digital kiosk system that allows users to search for items and locate them within the warehouse; Ikea uses a similar system6, and their warehouse is not quite as large. If users could type in the item, brand or project they were working on and see where

CONCLUSIONS

34 CONCLUSIONS

their items were located, it would eliminate a lot of the wandering that the customers have to do to find product. A kiosk that simply displays a map of the store, like the map we found in our research online, is yet another easy step towards solving this issue. Home Depot must rethink the way that they organize the layout of their store. It is counter-intuitive to both homeowners and tradespeople. As we noted earlier, the way the store organizes items does not always make sense; some aisle categories are too broad and some are too specific. Home Depot needs to spend more time talking to their customers and to people who have never been in their store about how they may expect to find items and what they would group together. By doing this, Home Depot not only has the chance to decrease stress in their customer but also to increase profits by making it easier to find what you need and alsowhat you didnt know you needed. Employees need to have at least a basic level of training in the popular or seasonal products, regardless of their department. It seems that Home Depot has a good attitude about customer service, and is trying ways to provide a better experience for the non-professional, as evidenced by the snowblower infographics. But basic levels of customer serviceemployee knowledgecan not be neglected. Its evident that Home Depot makes an effort to hire highlyinformed associates with a work-ing knowledge of real world applications, but we had several interactions with employees that were unaware of new product and inexperienced with the seasonal items we asked about. Home Depot has a valuable asset, the experienced employee, and they need to use this to the fullest. Employees like Marty, who are hands on make the customer more comfortable with the product

Customers that we talked to are looking for more than just savings and Home Depot has more than cheap prices to offer customers.

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Slogan 2009 Present

More saving. More doing.

Slogan 2003 2009

You can do it. We can help.

36 CONCLUSIONS

and not so intimidated. This level of customer service should be taught to new staff. Employees with better knowedge of the product should be assigned to train the less experienced associates. Time should be set aside for new em-ployees to shadow interactions. The infographics Home Depot used for their snowblowers are a great sell-ing tool for the customer who wishes to learn on his own or to simply browse. By giving context to a complicated item, the customer is enticed into learning more and becoming more interested the product. For a person who is not fam-iliar with the hardware in the store, the infographics make the product more

accessible. Home Depot should begin adding more infographics in the store so they can broaden their audience. Our final recommendation is to re- examine the slogan that dictates the attitude of Home Depot. Home Depot is unique from other retailers, like clothing stores, where customers wish to be left alone to browse. Most of the customers we observed at Home Depot had a lot questions and were looking for an employee to guide them through a project. Customers we talked to are looking for more than just savings and Home Depot has more than cheap prices to offer customers.

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1 Bichierri, Chip, and Mike Williams. Personal Interview. Sep. 27, 2012.

2 Marzilli, Ted. New Heights for Lowes as Homeowner Popularity Recovers. Forbes. 06 2012: n. page. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.

3 Clifford, Stephanie. Retailers Idea: Think Smaller in Urban Push. New York Times. 25 2012: n. page. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.

4 OConnell, Patricia. Putting the Customer FIRST at Home Depot. Business Week. 05 2010: n. page. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.

5 Clifford, Stephanie. Retailers Idea: Think Smaller in Urban Push. New York Times. 25 2012: n. page. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.

REFERENCES

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This audit was set in Chronicle Text G2, designed by Hoefler & Frere-Jones and Brandon Grotesque, designed by Hannes von Dhren. It was printed on French Paper Companys text weight paper. Thanks to Joe Quackenbush and our Design Research class for provid-ing feedback through the audit. And to all of the patient employees at Home Depot who spent time with us while we acted like we intended to make a big snowblower purchases each weekend.

COLOPHON

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Home Depot Audit