Home Depot & Lowe’s Are Banking on Remodeling in 2026 — You Should, Too

Listen closely to the first earnings calls of the year from the two biggest home improvement retailers in the country and one thing is clear: They are doubling down on their Pro business.

Over the past year, both home improvement behemoths have been ramping up their offerings to court the Pro business, according to previous earnings reports. While trade professionals have long relied on Home Depot and Lowe’s for many materials and components, those retailers are reacting to the lag in new home construction by focusing on customer service and adding more perks for qualified trade professionals. In addition, both companies have made huge acquisitions that expand their resources in just the past year. 

In 2025, Home Depot’s SRS distribution subsidiary announced its planned purchase of GMS – a provider of specialty building products including drywall, ceilings, steel framing and other products used in large remodeling and construction projects – while Lowe’s completed its acquisition of Foundation Building Materials (FBM), a major building materials and construction products distribution company.

The goal is to make it easier for construction pros to shop for materials, have product delivered to the job site, tap into extended credit lines, and access digital tools that streamline operations in a time of labor shortages. Throw in attractive loyalty programs and it’s a way to woo contractors, electricians, and other remodeling professionals that is hard to beat.

Where once Home Depot and Lowe’s relied heavily on the do-it-yourself homeowner as its primary customer, times have changed. With the average household feeling the squeeze in discretionary spending – many homeowners report they have delayed non-essential home improvement projects – Home Depot and Lowe’s are betting on the trades, rather than homeowners, to help them increase sales this year.    

While the U.S. mortgage rate fell just below 6% in last week – which marks a four-year low – it might not be enough to spur home buying, especially among homeowners who refinanced their 30-year mortgage when rates hovered around 4% before COVID or when they dipped to 3% during the pandemic. As a result, the number of consumers who typically remodel just after they move or who spend when prepping their home to sell might not be as high as in years past. So what’s a home improvement retailer to do? Focus on the Pro business, where project pipelines are steady and generate higher ticket sales, instead of chasing the slow trickle of homeowner spending.

The Pro programs are not exactly new – Home Depot’s Pro Xtra loyalty program launched in 2012 – but both companies have been boosting the benefits of their programs in earnest over the past two years by unveiling new membership tiers and advantages to build customer loyalty and repeat business.  

On February 17, Lowe’s announced that it was courting small to medium-size construction and remodeling firms by expanding product access through its Pro Extended Aisle program enhancing digital tools that simplify quoting and purchasing, plus delivering immediate value through MyLowe’s Pro Rewards. The press release stated, “Together, these enhancements make it faster and easier for Pros to shop, source materials and manage their businesses whether in store, online or on the job site. Small-to-medium Pros are balancing purchasing, project management and back-office work every day. Lowe’s has enhanced its Pro experience to bring those needs together in one connected platform, supported by expanded product access and integrated digital tools.”

Home Depot extolled the benefits of its Pro Xtra loyalty program during a special savings period called Pro Xtra week in October. “Through our exclusive loyalty program, Pro Xtra, we’re making it easier for renovators, remodelers and specialty trades to save time, reduce costs and keep jobs moving forward,” the company said. Home Depot’s recent messaging to the construction/remodeling market notes that its Pro Xtra program “helps you save time, money and effort on your projects – from tailored discounts, bulk pricing, and purchase tracking – by providing everything needed to streamline your workflow and enhance profitability.”      

In order for lighting showrooms to compete with the mega home centers, emphasizing their lighting expertise seems like the best option. Showrooms do not have the financial resources of a Home Depot or Lowe’s, so being able to offer comprehensive digital tools to simplify back-office duties or provide financing flexibility is not realistic.

Home Depot and Lowe’s both have invested in quick shipping (and sometimes free – depending on the level in a loyalty program) and that is an area that some lighting showrooms might be able to improve on for customers, but it will take some strategic planning and perhaps negotiation with vendors.

What Home Depot and Lowe’s are not promising in their Pro programs is the ability to help troubleshoot project challenges as they occur. The availability of technical knowledge is one advantage that lighting showrooms can offer professional contractors, electricians, builders, and remodelers. With a leave-the-lighting-headaches-to-us type of approach, lighting showrooms may be able to win over that portion of each project if they promote their expertise as saving the trade professional time and energy so they can focus on completing other areas of the job.

Do you have a strategy for increasing your business with local contractors, electricians, and remodelers? Share it with me at linda@homenewsnow.com