Consumers invest a lot into the power equipment they need to take care of their properties. The TraQline data covering the outdoor power equipment market for the quarter ending in June of 2021 offers excellent insight into buying behaviors when it comes to both retailers shopped and preferred brands.

Home Depot: The Steady Leader of the Outdoor Power Equipment Market

Home Depot had its first dip in outlet dollar share since 2014 between the 4Q end June 2020 and the 4Q end June 2021 with a 1 percent loss. Despite this, the retailer still held a lead over all other retailers with 28.7 percent. There was a similar, small dip in unit shares (1 percent), but still a significant lead over competing outlets at 26.7 percent. Lowe’s was the closest runner-up in dollar and unit shares (21.9 percent and 20.5 percent, respectively).

A Look at the Leading Retailers by Region

Home Depot held the strongest share of the OPE market nationwide at 27 percent, with only Lowe’s holding anything close at 21 percent. Regionally, Home Depot was most popular in the West (33 percent). The giant home improvement retailer was only beaten out marginally in the South, where Lowe’s held the top spot in the region (26 percent vs 25 percent).

Retailer In-Store vs Online Sales

In addition to having well-established brick-and-mortar stores across the country, Home Depot has gained steady traction with online sales. For the 4Q ending June 2021, Home Depot’s online sales were at 20 percent. Lowe’s had the lowest online OPE sales at just 12 percent.

Ryobi: YoY Gains and Substantial Market Leads

For the 4Q ending June 2021, Ryobi finished out with 8.3 percent of the dollar share in the outdoor power equipment market, which fell just under the longstanding brand leader Craftsman, which won 8.8 percent. Ryobi has sustained impressive YoY gains since June 2014 when it held only 2.6 percent of the brand dollar shares in the market. For the last R4Q, Ryobi managed to top all other brands with 10 percent of unit shares, though their lead is slim. The closest competition is Craftsman (8.4 percent) and Black & Decker (8.9 percent).

A Look at the Leading Brands by Region

Ryobi took the lead as the preferred nationwide brand (10 percent), but other brands like Black & Decker and Craftsman were not far behind. Ryobi had the most significant lead in the West at 12 percent but was also the leading brand in all other regions except the Midwest. The dominating brand among Midwest shoppers was a tie between Black & Decker and Craftsman, both holding steady at 9 percent of sales.

Brand In-Store vs Online Sales

In terms of online vs in-store OPE sales mix, Stihl makes the largest percentage of its sales in-store with 86 percent. Snow Joe & Sun Joe, on the other hand, has the largest percentage of its sales mix in online. The brand makes 74 percent of its sales online. By comparison, brand leader Ryobi makes 23 percent of its sales online.

Other Interesting Data in the OPE Market

So, what drives consumers to buy OPE, who was doing the shopping, and how many places did they shop? Here is a brief look at a few other interesting bits of data:

• Most people shopped at only one store before making their purchase (60 percent)
• Shoppers buying Black & Decker were most likely to have considered only one brand (78 percent)
• The biggest reason for the purchase of OPE was to replace a non-functioning item (39.8 percent)
• Most Ryobi shoppers were married (68 percent), owned their own homes (88 percent), and were men (57 percent)

Get the Detailed Report on the Outdoor Power Equipment Market

Despite challenges in the market, it seems that shoppers are still just as interested in buying outdoor power equipment as ever. Leading retailers and brands are holding steady even though changes may be on the horizon. Get TraQline’s free downloadable infographic for a more detailed level of insight into the OPE market.