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Once a small hardware store in North Carolina, Lowe’s is now a home improvement giant where you can buy almost anything: paint, rugs, even Halloween decorations. To continue evolving, the materials merchant is looking to software and other tech, and it’s investing heavily to build its online marketplace infrastructure and scale its e-commerce business. It’s also hoping its AI agent, Mylow Companion, can be the red vest roaming the virtual aisles and helping boost sales.
Here’s what two Lowe’s executives told Revenue Brew about the company’s investment in technology, and what one expert thinks about the pivot.
Lowe’s knows…tech?
Joe Cano, Lowe’s SVP of digital, knows how to launch marketplaces—he’s done it at three other companies. The Lowe’s online marketplace allows the company to widen what it can offer via third-party sellers.“About 25% of the marketplace sales to date are being driven by new customers that have not shopped at Lowe’s,” he said.
For Cano, this means his company is able to unlock new demand streams. As a result, he says items that have previously never been sold in stores, like saunas and aboveground pools, are now driving large sales for the company.“We’re not an open marketplace or closed. Everyone has to actually apply, so we vet you,” he said.
Cano says you can increasingly think of Lowe’s as a “one-stop shop” thanks to its increasing breadth, or as he calls it, “wallet share.”
“If I can help save the customer time and money and energy—versus going to four different websites, they can get everything on Lowe’s for their home—that to me is the ultimate,” Cano said.
Regarding AI, Cano said his team is trying to ensure that the helpful information customers get in store can also be experienced online. For example, Mylow allows users to ask questions, look for items, set replacement reminders, and reimagine rooms in different colors.
“It gives people this confidence that, even though I don’t know how to do that, I’m trusting in Lowe’s as that valued resource, like our red vest associates, would be in store, and I’m utilizing that same kind of knowledge base online,” Cano said.
The right tools for the job
Chandhu Nair, SVP of data, AI, and innovation, explained that the company built the Lowe’s Innovation Labs team to explore the possibilities of home improvement through emerging technology.
“Following the rollout of our store associate Mylow, we’re seeing higher customer satisfaction scores with notable improvement in associate helpfulness and knowledge,” Nair told Revenue Brew in an email.
Despite the successes, Nair said that in no way is Lowe’s changing its identity.
“We measure our success and see our future in the context of how we can better help our customers. We do not create tech for tech’s sake,” Nair said.
“Customers might not know all the ways technology is making Lowe’s even more helpful, but they are already experiencing it.”
Expert insight: integrating tech solutions
According to Justin Rice, chief product and technology officer at AI enterprise solutions company CBTS, the greatest demand in the retail space is for technology that can drive personalized engagement.
Rice applauded Lowe’s for taking steps to evolve and said that he thinks AI agents are an effective way to start improving tech infrastructure.
“That is a great way for companies to dip their toe in the water on an AI investment,” Rice said. “Showing the value, showing the ROI, [it] helps justify it for a CIO.”
Rice said that a natural next step for a company like Lowe’s would be to increase investment into modern data platforms or AI-ready networks.
“The value they’re going to get out of these investments long term is a major organizational cultural shift,” he said.