The trend: Home-related retailers are trying to tap new revenue streams as big projects stall and price-sensitive consumers direct more of their spending to essentials.

Home Depot said it plans to acquire Mingledorff’s, a wholesale distributor of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, parts, and supplies. The move expands its footprint in the $100 billion HVAC sector, pushes it beyond its core retail business, and continues its effort to broaden ties with professional contractors.

Lowe’s launched a subscription service offering in-home maintenance for loyalty members, providing two visits a year for $99 to handle small tasks such as dryer vent cleaning, HVAC filter replacement, water heater flushing, and garage door lubrication.

Best Buy has also moved beyond its classic electronics focus. It launched a digital marketplace last year, more than doubling its available products and adding brands in categories such as seasonal decor, automotive tech, and movies and music. It also expanded its Best Buy Ads retail media business into a broader multichannel ad platform, adding tools such as Social+, which lets brands use its first-party data to target shoppers on Facebook and Instagram.

Early signs suggest that developing or acquiring adjacent businesses can aid financial results. Home Depot’s earlier acquisitions of GMS and SRS Distribution extended its reach into drywall, roofing, and other specialty categories and have enabled it to win a larger share of spending from professional businesses. In Q4 2025, strength in Home Depot’s professional segment helped counter softer do-it-yourself demand.

Implications for retailers: Seeking adjacent businesses that can produce steady revenues is a familiar playbook for companies in slower-growth categories. Home-related retailers are contending with a prolonged housing slowdown, plummeting consumer confidence, and shoppers who are more focused on essentials and price.

Discretionary retailers are using customer relationships, data, and distribution networks to expand into adjacent businesses, such as advertising and contractor services, to generate new fee-based or higher-margin revenue streams. While the opportunity offers potential financial payoffs, the challenge is to execute, since acquisitions and new business lines will only deliver value if they are integrated well.

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