How, and why, The Lowe’s List For Innovation came to life

May 10, 2021

When it comes to picking products for your home, who doesn’t want the best of the best? The most helpful. The most efficient. The most innovative.

With more than two million products available at Lowe’s, researching and finding those top products can take time. So, Lowe’s is making it easier on you. This week, the company launched The Lowe’s List for Innovation. The first Lowe’s List features 60 top-tier products, spanning across many departments, guiding customers right to the items that will make their lives easier and their homes more innovative. 

In the Q&A below, Lowe’s Executive Vice President of Merchandising Bill Boltz, dives deeper into the ‘why’ behind The Lowe’s List and how it can help any customer – from DIYer to PRO.

Q: Why is Lowe’s launching The Lowe’s List for Innovation?

A: First of all, we pride ourselves on being the customers’ advocate for value and being able to highlight new and innovative products are one way of doing that. We have lots of innovative products in the aisles of our stores that just need a story. Working with our Marketing team we felt that Lowe’s innovation is about more than gadgets and it is about introducing these great products and brands via The Lowe’s List to help customers discover the best, most impactful solutions for their homes and lives. 

Q: Who picks the products? 

A: The Lowe’s List products are handpicked by an in-house expert team made up of merchants, trend and marketing teams who use their years of experience and their extensive knowledge to select products that truly push the boundaries of innovation and inspiration in unexpected ways. We also work closely with our vendor partners and listen to our customers, making sure that we understand what they are looking for and what they see and value as relevant features and benefits from their product. 

Q: What’s the criteria for selection? 

Q: Are these best sellers or exclusive to Lowe’s? 

A: In many cases, yes, although that’s not a criterion that products must meet to be featured. Some of the products selected may be new to the category like FLEX. 

Q: Were there any customer insights or data used to create the list? 

A: The merchants, working with our vendor partners and our customers are constantly looking for new and innovative products. We’ve been helping customers meet all their home improvement needs for 100 years and would like to think that we have learned a great deal about them in the process. The Lowe’s List products are reflective of those products that address their real needs in ways that have exceeded our own expectations.  

Q: Is this a new merchandising strategy for Lowe’s? 

A: Since this leadership team arrived in mid-2018, we have been working on a number of retail fundamentals. One of those fundamentals was all about how to get credit for the new and innovative products we had in our store. Working with our Chief Marketing and Brand Officer, Marisa Thalberg, The Lowe’s List is one of the many efforts that she and her team have helped us bring to life to elevate and highlight our product assortment – aiding customers in the discovery of all the great products we have to offer. You may have also seen that we just launched the House of Curators, a series of décor curations that invites trusted tastemakers to uncover the incredibly stylish products available at Lowe’s. These are perhaps the examples most visible to our customers but remember that we’ve also invested heavily in having the right products, in the right place at the right time. 

Future editions of The Lowe’s List for Innovation will drop throughout the year. You can learn more about the Lowe’s List and shop featured products at Lowes.com/TheLowesList.