Lowe's Is Closing the Gap
Home Depot still leads the category at $16.0 million (51.0% share), but the lead is narrowing fast. Lowe's grew 9.6% to $15.3 million (49.0% share), more than double Home Depot's 4.4% growth rate. The share gap between the two retailers halved in a single year, from 4.4 points down to 2.0.
Lowe's is outpacing Home Depot in nearly every region. The South — the largest region at a combined $10.5 million — tilts heavily toward Lowe's at 61.7% share versus Home Depot's 38.3%. The West is the exception, where Home Depot leads at 65.4%. But even there, Lowe's is growing faster.
The geographic footprint is Sun Belt-heavy. Texas, California, and Florida together account for nearly a third of the category.
The Trade-Up Is Real and Measurable
The clearest signal in the data is the mid-tier surge. The $10-to-$25 price tier grew 28.3% to $13.9 million, making it the largest segment in the category. The $25-to-$50 tier grew 6.5%. Meanwhile, the budget tier (under $10) dropped 16.5% and premium ($50-plus) fell 34.6%.
Consumers are consolidating into the middle of the shelf. This is not random — it shows up in the brand data too. Quikrete, the category leader at $14.0 million, grew 7.1% with flat units and flat distribution. A $0.18 lift per unit turned into a 7% revenue gain. Shoppers chose a slightly better product at a slightly higher price, and the brand held that price without blinking.
At Home Depot specifically, the budget tier collapsed 22.1% while the $10-to-$25 segment surged 35.4%. At Lowe's, the trade-up was broader — the $25-to-$50 tier grew 13.2%, suggesting Lowe's shoppers are moving further up the price ladder.
Brand Performance Splits by Retailer
Quikrete leads at both retailers but grew more modestly at Home Depot ($7.8 million, up from $7.4 million) than at Lowe's ($6.1 million, up from $5.7 million). Sika is where the retailer split gets dramatic: up just 1.9% at Home Depot but up 15.6% at Lowe's, adding $706,000 in a single quarter. Sika is the fastest-growing major brand at Lowe's and the primary force behind the retailer's share gains.
Sakrete grew 4.6% to $5.0 million, performing steadily at both retailers. Rapid Set, an HD-exclusive brand, grew 7.6% to $1.9 million.
The breakout signal belongs to DAP. One SKU at Lowe's grew 55.6%, with new doors, faster turns, and a higher price all firing simultaneously. The base is small at $197,000, but the trajectory is unmistakable. The obvious question: why is that SKU not on Home Depot's shelf yet?
Drylok fell 13.1% and Master dropped 29.3% — neither held price discipline.
Two Shelves, Two Product Strategies
The format and application data reveal that Home Depot and Lowe's are not just carrying different brands — they are selling different types of concrete repair entirely.
Dry mix and liquid/pail formats are essentially Home Depot exclusives. Lowe's shelf concentrates on tube/cartridge products ($4.7 million, up 14.9%) and a small pre-mixed segment. This format split means a manufacturer's product development roadmap should look different depending on which retailer they are targeting.
The setting-speed contrast is equally stark. Lowe's fast-set products generated $9.1 million — three times Home Depot's $3.1 million. Lowe's shoppers are choosing convenience and speed. Home Depot's shelf leans toward standard-set at $12.9 million. For Sika, whose Lowe's growth outpaces Home Depot by a wide margin, the fast-set preference likely explains part of the divergence.
Datavations tracks every SKU, every store, every sale across 11,936+ locations, giving manufacturers the granularity to understand not just what is selling, but why the same category behaves differently at each retailer.
What This Means for Manufacturers
Three patterns from Q1 2026 apply well beyond concrete repair.
First, price architecture is where the margin lives. Quikrete proved that flat units plus disciplined pricing equals revenue growth. The brands that held price took the trade-up. The ones that did not — Drylok, Master — declined.
Second, retailer-specific strategies matter. Sika's 15.6% growth at Lowe's versus 1.9% at Home Depot is not noise. It reflects different format preferences, different setting-speed demand, and a Lowe's shopper who is trading up faster.
Third, small-base breakouts are worth watching. DAP's 55.6% growth on a single SKU is exactly the kind of signal that gets missed in category-level reporting but drives the next shelf conversation.
How big is the concrete repair category at Home Depot and Lowe's?
Concrete repair generated $31.3 million across Home Depot and Lowe's in Q1 2026, up 6.9% year over year. Home Depot holds 51.0% share ($16.0 million) and Lowe's holds 49.0% ($15.3 million).
Which brand leads in concrete repair?
Quikrete leads at $14.0 million combined, up 7.1% year over year. Sika is the fastest-growing major brand at $9.2 million, up 9.3% overall and 15.6% at Lowe's specifically.
Why is the concrete repair category growing?
Growth is driven by price, not volume. Units were essentially flat while the $10-to-$25 price tier surged 28.3%. Consumers traded up from budget products, and disciplined brands like Quikrete held the higher price points.
What is the difference between Home Depot and Lowe's in concrete repair?
The two retailers carry fundamentally different product mixes. Lowe's concentrates on tube/cartridge formats and fast-set products ($9.1 million in fast-set versus Home Depot's $3.1 million). Home Depot carries exclusive dry-mix and liquid/pail formats. Lowe's is also growing faster, cutting Home Depot's share lead from 4.4 points to 2.0 in one year.
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