Home Depot 2014 Annual Report Download - page 8

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loyalty program, Pro Xtra, that provides our professional customers with discounts on useful business services,
exclusive product offers and a purchase tracking tool to enable receipt lookup online and job tracking of purchases
across all forms of payment. This program, introduced in fiscal 2013, continued to gain traction, with approximately
2.5 million customers enrolled by the end of fiscal 2014.
We help our DIY, DIFM and professional customers finance their projects by offering private label credit products in our
stores through third-party credit providers. In fiscal 2014, our customers opened approximately 2.9 million new The Home
Depot private label credit accounts, and at fiscal year end the total number of The Home Depot active account holders was
approximately 11 million. Private label credit card sales accounted for approximately 23% of sales in fiscal 2014.
Building Connectivity. In fiscal 2014, we continued to enhance our customers' interconnected shopping experiences through
a variety of initiatives. As noted above, we completed the first major upgrade of our FIRST Phone in-store mobile
technology. Our new web-enabled handheld devices, which allow mobile checkout, give our associates a simple customer
service tool for locating products, checking inventory on hand or simply explaining product features. These capabilities are
especially important for our "interconnected" customers. Many of our customers research products online and then go into
one of our stores to view the products in person or talk to an associate before making the purchase. While in the store,
customers may also go online to access ratings and reviews, compare prices or view our extended assortment. Our web-
enabled FIRST Phones help our associates assist with the online experience when they encounter customers in the aisles.
Approximately 10% of our online orders were created from inside our stores in fiscal 2014. During fiscal 2014, we also
introduced a new mobile app that provides an enhanced in-store map and live chat feature, and we have found that our
customers are using this mobile app inside our stores.
We also recognize that customers desire greater visibility, control and options when it comes to receiving their products and
services. In addition to our BOPIS, BOSS, and BODFS programs, during fiscal 2014 we developed several delivery
enhancements for our customers. We began pilot programs to offer time-specific delivery of orders placed online or in the
stores; improve and simplify the in-store experience for scheduling a delivery; and enable customers to self-schedule a
delivery on our website. Time-specific delivery capability will be particularly beneficial to our professional customers, who
need to ensure their orders are delivered to their job sites at the time that aligns with the project plan to avoid disruptions or
delays.
We also made enhancements to our special order and installation process in fiscal 2014. First, we introduced our new
Customer Order Management system, which is being rolled out to all U.S. stores. This system is designed to provide greater
visibility into and improved execution of special orders by our associates and a more seamless experience for our customers.
We also replaced our lead and purchase order management system with a single platform for our third-party installers. In
addition to the new interface, installers have the option to integrate directly with our system through a secure data
transmission. This system improves communications between installers and the stores and delivers a better customer
experience. We also built better connectivity to reduce the time between a customer's initial inquiry for service and the
service provider's contact with the customer, which makes it more likely that the customer will proceed with the project.
Our Associates. Our associates are key to our customer service initiative. We empower our associates to deliver excellent
customer service through our Customer FIRST training program, which includes enhanced training for our interconnected
customers that stresses the importance of quick pickup of merchandise. We also have a number of programs to recognize
stores and individual associates for exceptional customer and community service. At the end of fiscal 2014, we employed
approximately 371,000 associates, of whom approximately 23,000 were salaried, with the remainder compensated on an
hourly or temporary basis. To attract and retain qualified personnel, we seek to maintain competitive salary and wage levels
in each market we serve. We measure associate satisfaction regularly, and we believe that our employee relations are very
good.
Product Authority
Our product authority initiative is facilitated by our merchandising transformation and portfolio strategy, which is focused on
delivering product innovation, assortment and value. In fiscal 2014, we continued to introduce a wide range of innovative
new products to our professional, DIFM and DIY customers, while remaining focused on offering everyday values in our
stores and online.
Our Products. In fiscal 2014, we introduced a number of innovative and distinctive products to our customers at attractive
values. Examples of these new products include Behr Marquee® interior paint; EGO™ 56-volt lithium-ion 3-in-1 cordless
lawn mower; Diablo® Pergo® blades from Freud®; touchless toilets from Kohler®; and the My Q Garage universal
smartphone controller from Chamberlain®.