Home Depot copies Walmart with decision consumers won't like

Home Depot has always sort of done its own thing as a large retailer.

Whereas other retailers may hire any old person to stock shelves or ring up purchases, Home Depot tends to hire knowledgeable sales associates who are trained in specific trades.

If you need help finding the right bedroom paint, for example, there's a person for that. If you're being brave and tackling a bathroom remodel on your own, there are store associates who can guide you toward the right materials.

Plus, the very nature of Home Depot is that it's a store customers tend to need year-round. That's why Home Depot maintains long hours throughout the year, opening as early as 6 a.m. and closing as late as 10 p.m.

It's that very consistency that customers have come to rely on.

Home Depot rarely closes stores

Many retailers close their doors to shoppers multiple times during the year. It's pretty common, in fact, for stores to be closed on holidays that include Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day.

Home Depot, though, stays open almost every day of the year. And part of the reason is that the company prides itself on being perpetually available to customers.

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Still, Home Depot does draw the line with two major holidays — Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Those are the only two days during the entire calendar year that Home Depot won't welcome shoppers in.

It's the same store-closure schedule Walmart sticks to, and it's one that consumers may find frustrating, given that they're used to Home Depot being open all the time. But while some customers may not like it, there's a reason behind it. 

A strategic decision for Home Depot

Closing twice a year makes sense for Home Depot for a couple of reasons.

First, the company maintains huge stores, similar in size to the Costco warehouses many customers find impressive but overwhelming.

It costs money just to keep a store that large running for a day. And given that Thanksgiving and Christmas aren't really big home-improvement days, foot traffic is likely to be minimal at those times.

It's just not worth the cost of staying open for what could be only a handful of customers.

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But Home Depot also needs to keep its sales associates happy. These aren't any old retail workers — they're people who know their way around home improvement and specific products.

Giving workers time off for these major holidays is essential to retaining good employees.

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Of course, Home Depot does need to be strategic with store closures at a time when foot traffic to the retailer was down 0.1% during its last fiscal quarter, according to data from Placer.ai.

But the loss of sales from a Christmas Day closure is unlikely to be monumental for the company — especially if shutting down for the day helps boost employee morale.

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