{"id":429,"date":"2026-05-20T18:05:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T18:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429"},"modified":"2026-05-20T18:05:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T18:05:23","slug":"lowes-ceo-on-housing-market-difficulties-and-whats-next-for-the-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429","title":{"rendered":"Lowe\u2019s CEO on housing market difficulties, and what\u2019s next for the company"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lowe\u2019s CEO Marvin Ellison<\/a> described the current home improvement environment as \u201cthe most difficult housing market that I\u2019ve faced in this business since the financial crisis.\u201d He was speaking Wednesday during the company\u2019s first-quarter earnings call.<\/p>\n

Read more 16-year-old fatally shot near busy Charlotte intersection, CMPD says<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite notching its fourth consecutive quarter of positive sales, the retail giant<\/a> reported a modest increase in comparable sales as it leans into digital innovation and new service offerings.<\/p>\n

Ellison noted that while the current economic environment is stagnant, it differs significantly from the 2008 crash. During that financial crisis, \u201cconsumer sentiment for housing was low because you had such a large number of foreclosures,\u201d leading to non-existent home improvement investment.<\/p>\n

Today, the challenge is a \u201clock-in effect,\u201d where homeowners with low fixed mortgage rates are reluctant to move as current rates remain north of 6%.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just causing stagnation,\u201d Ellison said, noting that the DIY customer \u2014 representing 60% to 65% of Lowe\u2019s revenue \u2014 is under considerable pressure. \u201cThis is a much different environment when you look at the DIY pressure the customer is not spending on larger ticket just because of the current rate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Mooresville-based home improvement chain reported first-quarter net sales of $23.1 billion, up 10.3% from the same time last year, driven by acquisitions like Foundation Building Materials<\/a> and Artisan Design Group<\/a>. Lowe\u2019s comparable sales increased by 0.6% compared to last year.<\/p>\n

Growth categories included lawn and garden, paint, plumbing, tools, electrical, power equipment, cleaning and appliances.<\/p>\n

The company beat expectations and is still taking market share, even in a \u201creally tough housing\u201d environment, through strong spring sales, growth in the professional customer segment and a 15.5% surge in online sales, Ellison said.<\/p>\n

Read more These are the Top 2 soul food restaurants in Charlotte. Which one is best?<\/a><\/p>\n

Lowe\u2019s is grappling with a renewed round of inflationary pressure from rising oil and fuel prices, which are impacting commodity-based products like resin and plastics, Ellison said. While the impact in Q1 was \u201cpretty manageable,\u201d the company is working with vendor and supply chain partners to mitigate risks.<\/p>\n

The company remains confident in its ability to manage these external factors, including tariffs, which have been in flux since last year. \u201cWe\u2019ll manage through this,\u201d Ellison said.<\/p>\n

To maintain engagement with its DIY base, Lowe\u2019s continues to invest heavily in loyalty and digital tools. A key strategy is the deployment of Mylow, an AI-powered shopping assistant launched a year ago. Mylow now supports over 1 million customer inquiries each month, offering project guidance and recommendations.<\/p>\n

The tool is proving its value, as the conversion rate for online customers who engage with Mylow is triple that of those who do not, Ellison said. The company also is enhancing its loyalty program with new subscription services.<\/p>\n

Home Care Plus, a subscription service to support customers with routine home maintenance tasks, is available for $99 a year to MyLowe\u2019s Rewards members. This service, with trained Lowe\u2019s workers helping customers with their to-do lists, is viewed by Lowe\u2019s executives as a \u201clong-term play\u201d to build relationships with the DIY customer. Lowe\u2019s<\/a> has also enhanced its fulfillment options, including offering free same-day delivery for purchases over $25 to loyalty members.<\/p>\n

Lowe\u2019s is one of the Charlotte region\u2019s largest employers with about 11,000 corporate and tech hub employees. But it cut 600 corporate and support jobs<\/a> in February, effective by May 1.<\/p>\n

The layoffs heavily impacted the Charlotte area, eliminating 227 positions at its Mooresville headquarters and South End Tech Hub.<\/p>\n

Read more Krispy Kreme treating graduates to free doughnuts. Here\u2019s when & how to get them<\/a><\/p>\n

Lowe\u2019s has about 300,000 workers companywide with 1,759 home improvement stores.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lowe\u2019s CEO Marvin Ellison says housing market is the toughest since 2008 as the retailer posts fourth straight quarter of sales growth and boosts digital tools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nLowe\u2019s CEO on housing market difficulties, and what\u2019s next for the company - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lowe\u2019s CEO on housing market difficulties, and what\u2019s next for the company - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lowe\u2019s CEO Marvin Ellison says housing market is the toughest since 2008 as the retailer posts fourth straight quarter of sales growth and boosts digital tools.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-20T18:05:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=429#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=429\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"Lowe\u2019s CEO on housing market difficulties, and what\u2019s next for the company\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-20T18:05:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=429\"},\"wordCount\":626,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=429#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/495009d63c3f27a0bfbde998978d6bc9.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=429#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=429\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=429\",\"name\":\"Lowe\u2019s CEO on housing market difficulties, and what\u2019s next for the company - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=429#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=429#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/495009d63c3f27a0bfbde998978d6bc9.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-20T18:05:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=429#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=429\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=429#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/495009d63c3f27a0bfbde998978d6bc9.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/495009d63c3f27a0bfbde998978d6bc9.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=429#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lowe\u2019s CEO on housing market difficulties, and what\u2019s next for the company\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lowe\u2019s CEO on housing market difficulties, and what\u2019s next for the company - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lowe\u2019s CEO on housing market difficulties, and what\u2019s next for the company - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","og_description":"Lowe\u2019s CEO Marvin Ellison says housing market is the toughest since 2008 as the retailer posts fourth straight quarter of sales growth and boosts digital tools.","og_url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429","og_site_name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","article_published_time":"2026-05-20T18:05:23+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"headline":"Lowe\u2019s CEO on housing market difficulties, and what\u2019s next for the company","datePublished":"2026-05-20T18:05:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429"},"wordCount":626,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/495009d63c3f27a0bfbde998978d6bc9.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429","name":"Lowe\u2019s CEO on housing market difficulties, and what\u2019s next for the company - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/495009d63c3f27a0bfbde998978d6bc9.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-20T18:05:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/495009d63c3f27a0bfbde998978d6bc9.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/495009d63c3f27a0bfbde998978d6bc9.jpg","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=429#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lowe\u2019s CEO on housing market difficulties, and what\u2019s next for the company"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/","name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com"],"url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}