Dive Brief:
- The Home Depot is restructuring its technology team to align with broader organizational changes it is making to accelerate innovation and capture a greater share of its market, it announced last week.
- The company moved its store, supply chain and Pro product tech teams under the leadership of Franziska Bell, who joined the retailer as EVP and CTO in March. “I’ve always believed that the most powerful technology is the kind you don’t notice, because it’s busy behind the scenes making your life easier,” Bell said at the time.
- Home Depot developed three strategic customer experience pillars for the reorganization, focused on streamlining core offerings, improving its interconnected shopping experiences and growing its professional home improvement base. The technology goals and updated leadership structure support the company’s growth strategy, the announcement said.
Dive Insight:
Retailers are searching for ways to elevate customer experience and use technology to drive growth while navigating uncertain market conditions and economic headwinds.
The restructuring aims to capture a greater share of the home improvement market, and “enable smarter, faster innovation and create a more seamless customer experience for DIY and Pro customers,” CEO Ted Decker said in a statement.
In January, the company cut 800 jobs at its Atlanta store support center, most of which were focused on its technology organization.
Although Home Depot declined to provide more details about technology’s role in its organizational realignment, the March announcement of Bell’s appointment said she would focus on enterprise-wide integration of agentic AI and machine learning to “create a seamless, interconnected and data-driven experience for The Home Depot’s associates, DIYers and Pro customers.”
Home Depot has worked to adopt and scale AI tools over the past few years, including the launch of Magic Apron, a suite of generative AI tools aimed at improving customer experience. An expanded partnership with Google Cloud brought more capabilities earlier this year.
The company further expanded its digital hub in March, adding capabilities for professional builders, remodelers and renovators. The platform allows real-time delivery tracking of bulky building materials and can connect to the company’s Material List Builder AI tool.
Technology has also played a role in the company’s efforts to streamline customer shopping experiences online and in stores, Ann-Marie Campbell, senior EVP of U.S. stores and operations, said during the company’s Q1 earnings call in May.
“We have focused specifically on ensuring we have the right leadership and technology capabilities in place to simplify the operational demand on our stores and improve the speed and experience for our customers,” Campbell said on the call.
