Lowes hard to shop at?

[Jronman]

I don't want to give Lowes a poor review but I find Lowes hard to shop at. Anyone else find the same? Let me explain. I was shopping online last night at Lowes and it felt like Lowes just has a strange selection of tools and it seems a bit small, hit and miss, and/or lacking. Also they will carry a line of tools but not the full line. You can also find some items but only in kits when they are available elsewhere as a standalone item. It has some DeWALT but not some major lines of DeWALT like Flexvolt apart from the radio and power supply, Tough System apart from the power supply, the clamp line apart from the guide rail clamps, the battery powered DeWALT nailers, or all of the new Tool Connect stuff apart from the tags. Bosch is most notably missing things like Daredevil spade bits and Starlock.

[DR99]

No your not wrong Lowes has a small selection of tools compared to HD it seems.

[fm2176]

Here's my take on Lowe's...

 

I don't know if they still do or not (this practice may have stopped once FlexVolt was released) but not too long ago they advertised themselves as having the largest selection of DeWalt power tools available.  They do carry a lot of 20v Max stuff, with larger stores carrying things I've not seen at Home Depot such as the fan and certain lights.  When it comes to other brands, Lowe's carries a fair amount of Hitachi, most of the relatively small lines of Porter Cable and Kobalt, and a handful of Bosch power tools.

 

The reason that DeWalt products don't dominate Lowe's shelves outside of the power tool section is plain and simple--retailer agreements.  If you look, Stanley Black & Decker brands comprise the bulk of Lowe's shelf space, with the notable exception of DeWalt, whose hand tools are carried by Home Depot.  Both stores get Fatmax and a few other products, but Lowe's gets Bostitch, Lenox, Irwin, more Stanley and Black and Decker tools, and soon enough, Craftsman.  Home Depot has no room for more competiting products, carrying not only DeWalt but also brands owned by Milwaukee as well as Bessey clamps.  I'm basing this on my own observation, but it seems like SBD holds a majority of shelf space at Lowe's while reserving its premium tiered brand (DeWalt) for the store it lacks dominance in (barring some accessories like blades and bits).  This could also be why Lowe's gets a seasonal FatMax T-Stak combo instead of the ToughSystem.  As for FlexVolt, I recall early reports that Home Depot had an exclusivity agreement for the first year, but that has long passed and Lowe's still carries nothing beyond FlexVolt.

 

The decision to sell different products at each chain is evidenced by Lowe's shift away from 20v Max OPE just before Home Depot began selling it.  I bought my first two OPE tools on clearance, noticing them at HD shortly after.  Now Lowe's sells 40v Max while HD sells 20v Max, with no overlap in stores (online may be a different matter, I rarely shop online).

 

To close for now, I don't think that Lowe's necessarily carries fewer tools per se; anyone can get the basic tools they need at either store so long as they are not picky as to brand or voltage.  I do think that Home Depot has the better selection for the pro and the serious consumer, while Lowe's tool section is lackluster and drab at best these days.  Maybe it's just the colors, though.  Home Depot has a bright orange sign with a colorful tool section consisting of a lot of green, orange, red, and yellow, while Lowe's has a more drab blue sign with the same color dominating the tool section (Kobalt, Bosch, Irwin).

[Jronman]

I generally shop online but I would have to agree Lowes has the largest selection of DeWALT in store of the big box stores. Online is a different story. Go to Home Depot's website and the selection of any brand is gotta be at least 10x that of what is in store. I generally don't shop at big box stores anymore I tend to go with acme tools and other similar online stores that only sell tools. They tend to have as good if not better deals than the big box stores and you don't gotta sort through all the non tool deals.

[Mordekyle]

Yes and no.

Lowe's seems to have fewer tools overall.

But Lowe's seems to have more SDS Max bits and accessories, which presumably are purchased primarily by contractors.

I do like the fact that HD has reserved parking for trailers and illiterates, (You'll get it soon) while Lowe's doesn't.

HD does seem easier to shop at. Another reason I slightly prefer them is their ability to email me a receipt for record keeping.




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[BMack37]

Lowe's sucks.

[rcarnes911]

My Lowe's has a decent tool selection, but not great home Depot has a better selection. But I have noticed Lowe's seems to get new releases in stock faster then home Depot and they have a better selection of multi tool blades

 

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[Foneguy]

My Lowe’s is not as easy as HD to shop at,  for several reasons, layout, stock, even the parking lot ! (Spots way too small) But the people there try to help.

I do go to HD, but I need to be prepared, my HD sucks !!! The people that “Work” there literally will turn around in the aisle and walk away from you. When I go, I have my app ready to help find things.

( this is just my local HD)

[regopit]

A bigger joke is their slogan LOWE'S for pro's. I can't tell you how many times I have run in to a Lowe's to get the simplest things like a 1 1/2 trap plumbing fittings wire nuts and find empty shelves. Then trying get someone to find if they have anything is a bigger joke. I try to stay away from Lowe's at all cost.

[Woz]

Couldn't agree more. My lowes sucks. Always a huge line with one register open self checkout is always shut down. No one ever around. Definitely agree on the tool selection being very select. Mine still doesn't have the flexvolt line yet. Certain things they have that the other big box don't. 

[Bmill25]

If i want to buy a power tool, I would rather travel 25 miles to the nearest HD than go to Lowes that's 2 miles away. The power tool selection is atrocious.