On Wednesday, January 16, 2013 7:25:03 AM UTC-8, HerHusband wrote:
I find Lowes cleaner and better organized and stocked. It is more geared to the home owner, more typical retail. Home Depot is a bit more geared towards contractors. My local Lowes and Home Depot are mostly interchangeable. They carry most of the same items, though Lowes does focus a bit more on "presentation" with nice displays. Home Depot tends to have items in generic boxes with tiny labels. I don't care much for the organization at Lowes though. Pouring footings for a deck or something? The concrete mix and metal brackets are on the left end of the store. Anchor bolts? They're clear on the other side of the store in the hardware section. Installing a drainage system for your gutters or yard? The fittings and drains are on the left end of the store in the plumbing section. If you want the perforated drain pipe, you have to go to the other end of the store, outside in the garden area. Tiling a floor or wall? The tiles and mortar are at the back of store. Cement or Hardibacker are at the front of the store with the plywood.. Most shopping trips for a project require walking back and forth from one end of Lowes to the other to get the items you need. Home Depot tends to group similar items together (not always!) so it's quicker to get in and out when you're working on a project. Also, Home Depot rents tools. Lowes does not. Anthony Watson Mountain Software www.mountain-software.com/about.htm

Well, I know from my marketing and business education that grocery stores are laid out in this fashion on purpose. Milk at the back of the store. Meat at one end. Vegtables at the other end. Raging debate if you should have some aisles all non-grocery or to mix the non-grocery among necessary grocery. It keeps changing over the years. They want you to have to walk the whole store. I wouldn't put it past someone as big as Lowes to try and "help" their customers notice more things they might like to buy.