BIGresearch’s June Retail Ratings: Lowe’s Consumer Preference Share
Grows in Home Improvement Sector, Closes in on Home Depot

Walmart, ACE Hardware and Target Show Increase in Consumer Preference

COLUMBUS, OH -- (MARKET WIRE) – 7/8/09 – The race for the number one spot for consumer preference continues its five year trend of Lowe’s gaining share on Home Depot, according to the June ‘09 Retail Ratings Report from BIGresearch (http://www.bigresearch.com). Over the last five years, Home Depot has lost almost half its lead:

Shop MOST OFTEN for Home Improvement
Adults 18+

                  Jun-05      Jun-06      Jun-07      Jun-08      Jun-09
Home Depot  31.4%       29.2%       30.6%       29.1%       28.5%
Lowe’s      21.5%       19.7%       22.5%       23.4%       24.3%

In addition to Lowe’s, Walmart, ACE Hardware, Target and Sears experienced growth year-over-year, while Home Depot’s growth in consumer preference share is relatively stagnant:

       HOME IMPROVEMENT
           CONSUMER PREFERENCE
                 SHARE

Store       June 2008   June 2009   +/-   CEI*
Walmart     5.2%        6.3%        +1.1  121.76
Lowe’s      23.4%       24.3%       +0.9  104.04
ACE         2.4%        2.8%        +0.4  114.57
Hardware
Target      0.6%        0.7%        +0.2  126.68
Sears       0.7%        0.8%        +0.1  113.03
Menards     3.5%        3.3%        -0.1  95.80
Home Depot  29.1%       28.5%       -0.6  98.06

*CEI measures growth in share of consumer preference year over year. An index of 100 is flat, while an index of 105 indicates 5% growth.

Source: BIGresearch Retail Ratings Report, June ‘09

When it comes to consumers who report a household income greater than $50,000, Home Depot’s consumer preference share is down 2.6 points year-over-year. On the other hand, Lowe’s share is up 2 points, shortening the gap in this segment as well:

             HOME IMPROVEMENT
           CONSUMER PREFERENCE
   SHARE - HH INCOME GREATER THAN $50K

Store       June 2008   June 2009   +/-   CEI*
Lowe’s      29.6%       31.6%       +2.0  106.60
Walmart     2.9%        3.4%        +0.5  117.27
OSH         0.4%        0.8%        +0.4  192.73
ACE         2.3%        2.6%        +0.3  110.95
Hardware
Menards     3.6%        3.8%        +0.2  105.61
Sears       0.9%        0.7%        -0.3  73.08
Home Depot  37.8%       35.2%       -2.6  93.05

Source: BIGresearch Retail Ratings Report, June ‘09

For an excerpt from the June Ratings Report: http://info.bigresearch.com/.

BIGresearch’s Retail Ratings Reports (RRR) are available monthly for 12 major merchandise categories. They are developed from BIGresearch’s monthly Consumer Intentions & Actions (CIA) Survey of over 8,000 online interviews.

About BIGresearch
BIGresearch is a consumer intelligence firm providing analysis of behavior in areas of products and services, retail, financial services, automotive and media. BIGresearch conducts the monthly Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey (CIA) of 8,000+ respondents and the semi-annual Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM) of 15,000+ respondents. More information is available at http://www.bigresearch.com.

Contact:
Chrissy Wissinger
BIGresearch
(614) 846-0146
chrissy@bigresearch.com