Big Box Web page - anyone else as frustrated with Lowes' site

[beowulf]

I always go into the store for things I need at Lowes or Home Depot but I like to use their web sites to see what they have, compare products and so on before I travel to town. I am closer to Lowes and get 5% off there so prefer to shop there if I can. But their website is very frustrating - actually maddening at times. Searches turn up totally unrelated products, difficult to specify features and so on. Home Depot is much easier to use and I can find and sort products easily. So, I have given up on Lowes website as a resource and I go straight to Home Depot's site as that is where I can find things and information.

I have emailed Lowes about this and have mentioned it to managers in their stores - though as expected nothing changes. It seems this would be an important issue for Lowes.

Is it me or have others experienced this? Not a really important topic, I know, but I am curious.

 

[bcp]

I often check both sites. What I find frustrating about many searches is that it doesn't offer a sort by size in the search refinements. If I am looking for a large bolt. I don't want to sort by department, price, brand, energy star rating, shipping cost, or review rating. I want to sort by size.

Bruce

 

[reb]

I have found HD's site to be more useful, too. For the things I have needed recently, HD's prices were lower. Since the nearest Lowe's is about 25 miles further than HD, that works well for me, anyway.

FWIW, a few years ago I noticed that Lowe's appears to have gone away from major brands in plumbing and electrical parts. I have done more shopping at HD for that reason.

 

[Looking4new]

I get the same crap with Home Depot in Canada and Best Buy. Future Shops' site was easier to navigate before Best Buy bought them out.
Amazon.ca is pretty easy but sometimes I have to go to Amazon U.S. and get the upc code then go to the Canadian site.

 

[dmccarty]

Yeah, Lowes does not have the best website but so many bricks and mortar stores have bad websites as well. At this point in the Internet, age is really is surprising how bad their websites can be.

You would think that they would understand that if I visited their website and don't buy something, that is very likely a lost sale. Now I do look at Lowes website to plot and plan things then go buy at the store but if I am looking for something that is easily shipped and I don't buy it from Lowes, it is very likely I am buying at Amazon which is a lost sale...

Amazon often has a much better inventory that is easier to search the Lowes.

Later,
Dan

 

[EddieWalker]

I like Lowe's online and I use their website all the time when figuring up a bid and needing to know a general cost of an item. They have everything online, and it provides a good starting point for me. I also like that if it's not in the store, I can order it online and get free delivery. At least that's what's happened so far.

Home Depot frustrates me a little. I don't find it as easy to look up prices as Lowes. I do like that you can get stuff online that isn't related to Home Depot at really good prices. They are better then Amazon in many regards. I found a security screen door that went on to my chicken coop there, which they didn't have in the store, but I was able to buy it online and pick it up at the store a couple days later. They have a windshield for my Kawasaki Mule online that's $40 cheaper then Amazon, with no shipping charges if I pick it up at the store.

I usually go to Amazon first to find something, but have found that if I shop around, I can sometimes find it for less at other places. Home Depot and Lowes are becoming good places to beat Amazon prices.

 

[beowulf]

I like Lowe's online and I use their website all the time when figuring up a bid and needing to know a general cost of an item. They have everything online, and it provides a good starting point for me.

Hey Eddie, Lowes is my go-to store and I can find my way around their stores in the dark. But for the life of me, every time I go on-line to check out products on their website before heading to town I get immediately frustrated. Frequently something other than what I am entering in the search box pops up - and I am a fairly skillful Internet "searcher". Then when I go to H Depot and enter precisely the same search info, I get matching responses. Because I like to go to Lowes (it is closer, I get the 5% card discount and they have always been helpful in the stores) I wrote to them about the issue. The difference in using the two websites was so stark I decided to post here to see if others had similar experiences.

So, now what I do is go to H Depot to find and check out the products, specs, features, etc. and once I learn enough and know what I want, I will go to town and most often to Lowes to get it - as they usually have the same stuff.

 

[s219]

Lowes redesigned their website sometime last year and then it took them a few months to work out the bugs/kinks. It's still not too good, and I have a hard time finding stuff, especially stuff that isn't easily sniffed out with their limited menu structure. There was one point when I was trying to put in an order for concrete and neither their menu structure nor search could find 60# sacks which I knew they had because I ordered them before and physically saw them in the store. It was frustrating. It's gotten slightly better but I still find that their new site sucks for finding stuff.

Tractor Supply also had a major site redesign last year and usability/search suffered greatly. They have also fixed bugs, but I still don't like the way search results are presented. You have to keep clicking "more" to see more results. The old way could show all results quickly and they could be sorted to help find what you wanted.

Not to be outdone, HD had a site redesign too, and same deal with fixing bugs over time. Their site seems pretty solid now, with good search, but for some reason it causes my laptop's CPU to spike up and burn through my battery. I can't find any reason why it happens. So I no longer leave HD windows open in my browser very long.

Anyhow, I am disappointed the way all of these companies have messed up their sites. They took what worked well and broke the heck out of it, then took months to restore functions, and are not back to 100% yet. If it was my business, I'd be embarrassed and ashamed to break that type of functionality for my customers.

There's no question, all of the sites I mentioned have changed to make things dumbed down and more flashy, the way a lot of younger shoppers want to browse. I don't like it at all -- it's a business transaction for me. May as well be on a ancient computer terminal for all I care -- I just want to quickly find what I already know I am trying to buy. I'm not on there to browse home decor....

 

[dragoneggs]

Personally I find navigating HD much better than Lowes. I'm a bit biased but HD is half the travel distance but neither are that far away. True enough for some things... for example a portable storage case for screws, washers, etc. Lowes beat Amazon significantly once I found it on their site. HD didn't carry the brand. Too bad I just bought on Amazon Prime. Oh well... could've saved $5 x 2, but it is pleasurable getting 'gifts' delivered to your door in two days and can get on it immediately and save a trip to town. Will buy more at the store now that I know they stock them. I do like seeing the available inventory at a my local store for both Lowes and HD online before I jump in the truck.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

I basically spec'd about everything that I could think of cost wise from lowe's website because I could find SHGC and U factor numbers for every window and door. Also, I could look up everything from drywall to 2x12s and then price shop them everywhere else. I like being able to buy contractor quantities but its such a pain getting loaded at the store. Go in and order 150 2x4's and a couple pallets of insulation and watch the fun.... The local lumber yard doesn't even flinch when I start ordering like that but they have their own truss plant and semi trucks to deliver anything. The guys are extremely happy when I can lift off 50 sheets of plywood with the loader too! I wish the local guys had better hours but they have alot of overhead I'm sure. the sales ppl in lowes are just above worthless if you have any type of question about products.