Home Depot’s sales continue to soften in 2024 as inflation, delayed start to spring weigh on sales WSB-TV Channel 2 [Video]

Home Depot’s sales continued to soften in the first quarter as the nation’s largest home improvement retailer was not only constrained by high mortgage rates and higher inflation for its customers, but it also had to deal with a delayed start to spring.

Sales slipped 2.3% to $36.42 billion for the period ended April 28, just shy of the $36.65 billion that analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research expected. It was the third consecutive quarter of declining sales for the retailers, which saw sales skyrocket during the pandemic.

Customer transactions dipped 1% in the quarter, with shoppers also spending a bit less, averaging $90.68 per receipt compared with $91.92 a year earlier.

Sales at store open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer’s health, declined 2.8% globally, and 3.2% in the U.S.

Last week the average rate on a 30-year mortgagefell for the first time in a month, a slight relief for home shoppers already …