Learn how Fortune 500 brands are using identity resolution in 2025
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October 9, 2025
The home improvement ecommerce market is exploding, projected to grow from approximately $70 billion in 2024 to over $92 billion by 2028. Yet with online sales representing just around 14% of total home improvement purchases, massive opportunities await retailers who crack the code on digital transformation. These seven case studies reveal exactly how industry leaders built billion-dollar online empires—and what you can learn from their success.
Home Depot's digital empire generates approximately $23.6 billion in projected web sales for 2024, accounting for around 14.8% of their total net sales. Their transformation from traditional retailer to digital powerhouse offers crucial lessons for any home improvement business.
Home Depot scaled the BOPIS model that now drives their omnichannel success:
Their mobile app became the cornerstone of this strategy, featuring augmented reality tools that let customers visualize products in their homes before purchasing. This addresses a critical pain point—many shoppers abandon carts due to quality assessment concerns.
The mobile revolution transformed Home Depot's customer engagement:
By focusing on mobile optimization, Home Depot captures the growing segment of customers who research products on smartphones before purchasing—a behavior exhibited by more than half of shoppers making in-store purchases.
Lowe's digital transformation demonstrates how customer data and personalization drive ecommerce success in home improvement retail, contributing to the estimated $379 billion in US home center sales projected for 2027.
MyLowe's Rewards revolutionized customer engagement through data-driven personalization:
This customer-centric approach helps Lowe's compete effectively, especially as many home improvement shoppers report being open to discovering new brands early in their purchasing journey.
Lowe's Pro segment showcases targeted customer segmentation:
These specialized tools demonstrate how understanding customer segments drives success. Just as OpenSend Connect helps identify high-intent DIY shoppers browsing project materials, Lowe's uses customer data to deliver personalized experiences that increase conversion rates and average order values.
While giants dominate market share, Ace Hardware proves smaller retailers can thrive through local market focus and community engagement, serving the majority of homeowners who tackle multiple projects annually.
Ace's 5,700+ stores leverage local advantages:
Their franchise model enables rapid adaptation to local markets while maintaining consistent digital infrastructure—critical as approximately 40% of homeowners prefer flexible shopping experiences moving between online and in-store channels.
Ace empowers individual store owners with:
This distributed approach captures local market share while competing against national chains, proving that strategic focus can overcome size disadvantages.
Beyond, Inc.'s (formerly Overstock) transformation from discount liquidator to premium home retailer after acquiring the Bed Bath & Beyond brand offers valuable lessons about strategic repositioning in competitive markets.
Beyond, Inc.'s rebranding journey involved:
This shift addressed changing consumer preferences, particularly as sustainability becomes important—a trend driving growth in the European online DIY market.
Beyond+ rewards program drives customer loyalty:
The membership model creates recurring revenue streams while building customer lifetime value—essential as many consumers purchase garden items annually while others buy power tools only when needed.
At Home's treasure hunt retail model successfully translates online, demonstrating how experiential retail concepts can adapt to digital channels.
At Home replicates in-store discovery online through:
Their approach capitalizes on browsing behavior, important as most home improvement shoppers are frequent streaming TV users who discover products through digital channels.
At Home's seasonal strategy drives consistent traffic:
This seasonal focus benefits from tools like OpenSend Personas, which uses AI segmentation to identify seasonal decorator cohorts for targeted home decor campaigns throughout the year.
HomeGoods' late entry to ecommerce in 2021 provides fresh insights on launching digital channels for traditionally offline retailers.
HomeGoods translates their treasure hunt model online:
This scarcity marketing addresses the reality that online penetration in home improvement remains at estimated 14-16% projected by 2028, suggesting room for growth through urgency tactics.
HomeGoods prioritizes email marketing:
Their email-centric approach makes sense given the importance of first-party data in modern retail marketing.
For entrepreneurs entering the approximately $600 billion home improvement market projected by 2027, choosing the right platform is crucial.
Platform selection depends on your specific needs:
Shopify:
WooCommerce:
BigCommerce:
Critical functionality for DIY ecommerce:
Integration with OpenSend Connect through these platforms enables plug-and-play visitor identification, capturing unknown DIY shoppers visiting your store with Shopify or WooCommerce integration in under 5 minutes.
Every successful retailer shares one commonality: sophisticated customer data utilization driving personalization and conversion optimization.
Effective data collection strategies include:
With identity resolution becoming essential, retailers must capture first-party data before visitors leave.
Data-driven conversion tactics proven successful:
Tools like OpenSend Revive help maintain customer relationships by replacing bounced emails with active addresses, ensuring DIY customers who've moved don't lose connection with your brand.
With mobile devices driving shopping behavior, optimization is non-negotiable for capturing the average multiple projects homeowners tackle annually.
Mobile optimization requirements:
Bridging digital and physical experiences:
This omnichannel approach serves the estimated 40% of homeowners preferring flexible shopping experiences across channels.
OpenSend provides the missing piece in home improvement retail success: identifying and converting the 86-98% of visitors who leave websites anonymously. For an industry where more than half of purchases begin with online research, capturing these researchers before they visit competitors is crucial.
Home improvement retailers face unique visitor identification challenges:
OpenSend addresses these challenges through advanced identity resolution technology that identifies an estimated 25-35% of anonymous visitors—significantly higher than traditional methods.
The platform offers four integrated solutions perfect for home improvement stores:
OpenSend Connect: Captures high-intent visitors researching projects, turning browsers into email subscribers without forms or popups. This is especially valuable given that many consumers purchase power tools only when needed—catching them during research phases is critical.
OpenSend Reconnect: Unifies customer identities across devices, essential when shoppers research on mobile but purchase on desktop. This cross-device tracking ensures marketing messages reach customers regardless of their device.
OpenSend Revive: Automatically replaces bounced emails with active addresses, maintaining connections with customers who move—important for an industry serving homeowners through life changes.
OpenSend Personas: Creates AI-powered customer segments based on browsing and purchase behavior, enabling targeted campaigns for different project types and customer values.
OpenSend delivers measurable results for retail businesses:
For home improvement retailers competing in a market growing to an estimated $92 billion by 2028, OpenSend provides the competitive edge needed to capture market share. The platform's success stories across retail categories demonstrate proven results in increasing email lists, improving conversion rates, and driving revenue growth.
Home Depot and Lowe's succeed through omnichannel integration, mobile-first strategies, and sophisticated customer data utilization. They dominate online hardware sales by seamlessly connecting online research with in-store purchases, offering BOPIS options, and providing specialized tools for both DIY and Pro customers.
Small hardware stores can compete by focusing on local SEO optimization, community engagement, and specialized expertise. Ace Hardware's franchise model proves success through neighborhood-specific inventory and personalized service. Additionally, leveraging email marketing strategies and customer identification tools can help smaller retailers build loyal customer bases.
The best platform depends on your needs: Shopify offers quick setup and scalability, WooCommerce provides complete customization for WordPress users, while BigCommerce delivers enterprise features. Successful stores like Hartville Hardware show that platform choice matters less than implementing proper search functionality, which can drive significant online revenue.
Online furniture retailers build trust through visual commerce tools (AR, 3D planners), detailed customer reviews, liberal return policies, and white-glove delivery services. They also use retargeting strategies to stay connected with browsing customers throughout extended consideration periods.
Successful stores employ progressive profiling, behavioral tracking, cross-device recognition, and predictive analytics. They capture first-party data through value exchanges like project guides and use identity resolution to identify anonymous visitors, enabling personalized marketing that drives conversion.
October 9, 2025
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