Dear Lowe’s: Please get better at tool deals of the day! Sincerely, a Lowe’s.com customer.
I just posted about another round of Home Depot tool deals of the day, and included a link to Lowe’s daily deals section, where they are advertising deals on a Craftsman studfinder, random products, and 16 different Kobalt hand and mechanics tools and kits.
I took a closer look at the deals, and some of them are quite good. For instance, the Kobalt T-handle 1/4″ driver handle, with 15 bits and a 1/4″ hex bit adapter, is on sale for just $8.74.
But, you can’t buy it!!
Out of the 16 online-only deals, only 2 are in stock and available for purchase. That is, 14 out of the 16 advertised deals are out of stock.
You might be thinking that maybe all these tools sold out fast, and that’s definitely a possibility.
But, I’m not willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
I stay up late on Black Friday and Cyber Monday every year, to catch and post about all of the surprise deals as they go live. Lowe’s had a Craftsman tool deal for Cyber Monday 2021, and it was sold out and marked as unavailable from the start. (My notes say I checked at 3:04am ET.)
I’m thinking that, if Lowe’s didn’t properly plan out their Cyber Monday tool deals, what are the chances they paid attention to the Kobalt sale items they’re advertising as part of today’s deals of the day?
It’s not uncommon for highly popular tool deals to sell out early at Home Depot, and I do see out of stock item or two at the start on rare occasion. But 14 out of 16 deals listed as unavailable well before lunchtime?
Given Lowe’s history of lackluster tool deals of the day offerings, I’m assuming they simply put a bunch of clearance SKUs together for this promo, whether they were in stock in sufficient quantities or not.
But, maybe – if I were willing to give Lowe’s the benefit of the doubt – they had ample supplies and resellers promptly bought it all out for resale on ebay and Amazon.
Either way, I’m disappointed with Lowe’s, again.
I check Home Depot’s tool deals at least 9 out of every 10 days. I check Lowe’s deals on occasion, but I almost always feel like it’s a complete waste of time.
Lowe’s is home to quite a few stellar tool brands. They could and should do a better job with their deals of the day. I don’t know what the problem is. Not to mince words, it often feels like no one there cares.
How many of the 14 out of 16 sold-out Kobalt tools were available at the start of today’s deals of the day? I’m curious as to whether anyone at Lowe’s knows this answer.
Please Lowe’s, do better. Either your daily tool deals – when you have some – are uncompelling, or they’re compelling and unavailable.
Here’s an idea, and I mean this as respectfully as possible. Watch what Home Depot does with their tool deals of the day, and try to do the same. Home Depot’s deals don’t always align with my needs and interests, but they’re good enough that I check every day.
Maybe divert some resources away from your Metaverse and NFT development if you have to.
Oh, and please also try harder for Cyber Monday this year.
