Dive Brief:
- Lowe’s is seeing “dramatic improvements in customer service” when associates adopt the Mylow AI assistant to help them in their customer interactions, CEO Marvin Ellison said on a Q4 2025 earnings call Wednesday.
- Customer experience metrics are up in the 2% range in stores where workers are using Mylow, according to Ellison.
- Mylow is particularly helpful for new associates engaging customers, according to Ellison. One of the biggest challenges new employees face is building up product knowledge, and Mylow gives them immediate access to the information they need.
Dive Insight:
Lowe’s is maintaining its focus on professional contractors as it uses AI to enhance its in-store experience and adds new features to its MyLowe’s Rewards loyalty program.
The home improvement retailer recently expanded its workforce dedicated to professional contractor sales and added the Pro Companion feature to its associates’ AI-powered tool suite, according to EVP of Stores Joe McFarland.
“This new capability helps sales associates quickly prepare for conversations with pros by enabling rapid access to relevant information so they can walk in with recommendations already in hand, leading to more effective customer interactions,” McFarland said on the call.
Lowe’s is building out MyLowe’s Rewards to improve the pro experience as well. The company added the Pro Extended Aisle feature to its loyalty program to simplify quoting and purchasing for small- and medium-sized professional customers, according to an announcement last week.
Pro Extended Aisle offers loyalty members access to an expanded digital catalog with real-time inventory and pricing. The feature also offers direct-to-jobsite delivery from certain suppliers within Lowe’s network.
Contractors can get what they need immediately and have the rest of their order delivered when they need it at a later date, McFarland said on the call. “This new capability not only improves the customer experience, it replaces what was a time-consuming process for our associates with a single click.”
Pro sales continued to be a significant factor in Lowe’s sales growth, alongside online and home services. Comparable sales rose 1.3% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to an earnings release. Net sales grew 10.9% to nearly $20.6 billion.
Lowe’s is remaining cautious despite its positive quarter, according to executives. The home improvement retailer cut 600 corporate and support roles earlier this month, and “consumers are reluctant to make significant investments in their homes” right now, Ellison said.
“This workforce reduction will help us create greater financial agility within our dynamic industry, while continuing to invest in customer-facing areas of the company,” Ellison said on the call.
Lowe's home improvement rival The Home Depot is investing in its in-store experience as well. On a Tuesday earnings call, Home Depot announced the creation of an operations experience manager role tasked with driving uniform operational processes in stores to enhance interconnected shopping and last-mile fulfillment experiences.
