Spring is an important time of year for Home Depot as consumers turn their focus to home improvements and gardening during the warm weather months. The retailer continues to fine-tune its mobile strategy for targeting these shoppers.

“This year, we’re saving the mobile consumer time, money and uncertainty,” said Casey Rivera, senior manager, online product management for mobile at Home Depot. “Home Depot has always been the place to get the most innovative products for your home, and this year is no different.

“Consumers are making their homes smarter this year with these products, and mobile is the primary way that they are able to control these devices and better understand how their home operates,” he said. “When a customer is looking to transact, Home Depot continues to take friction out of the shopping experience.

“Our associates are equipped with mobile phones that are getting increasingly smarter to help customers in our stores, and our consumer-facing mobile Web site and applications are evolving, too. We’ve added questions and answers from fellow consumers, are predicting products you might be interested in based on your browsing history and enhancing our store maps to make it easier to navigate through our stores.”

In-app services
A recent update to the Home Depot app furthers the focus on simplifying home improvement needs.

Users can now access installation services from the app to help with their next installation, remodel or repair. Users can also check what tools, equipment and vehicles are available to rent at their local Home Depot store.

Pro Xtra members can now track purchases from the app as well as monitor savings.

“We looked at how our customers were using the app and how they were interacting with Home Depot overall and saw a big opportunity to help them with the last mile of their project,” Ms. Rivera said.

“We are great at connecting our in-store customers to help when they need to execute a project, whether it was getting a bulky purchase home or having an expert install the product, but that was missing from our app experience,” she said.

“Any time we can introduce a feature that makes our customers’ lives easier, we think it’s a pretty significant development, and this is no exception.”

Spring promotion
To kick off the spring push, Home Depot is holding its seventh Spring Black Friday promotion with 11 days of in-store and online savings.

This year, Home Depot is also further enhancing its interconnected retail offering by bringing scale and efficiency to its in-store mobile experience.

The retailer is also focused on enhancing its interconnected retail offering, including fulfillment options, including Buy Online, Pickup In Store. The chain previously reported that more than 40 percent of its digital transactions are picked up inside a store.

Shoppers can buy on a phone and have their order picked and waiting for them at the service desk in under two hours.

Finally, Home Depot is also stocking an array of smart home devices such as outdoor power tools with Bluetooth technology integrated and connected gardening tools for watering more efficiently.

“Consumers expect to be inspired, informed, and assisted by their mobile devices,” Mr. Rivera said. “This spring, that means finding ways to envision updates to their homes, watching videos about how to execute these updates, and making purchases quickly and easily from their mobile phones.

“It also means that consumers can make lists before visiting their local stores, share content easily with family, friends and hired professionals, and share the results of their hard work on social media, all from their mobile phones,” he said.

“A project guide explaining step-by-step how to build a raised garden bed can now join them in the yard while they build, and help is only a few taps away with features like Live Chat. This spring, mobile has made information and gratification immediate.”