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CartGoals for DIY & Home Improvement Stores

Industry: DIY & Home Improvement | Published: 2/21/2026

CartGoals for DIY & Home Improvement Stores

DIY projects are never just one item. Someone’s installing a ceiling fan - they’re also thinking about the wiring, maybe a light switch upgrade, probably new shelving while they’re at it.

The DIY Shopping Psychology

Your customers come in with a project in mind, not a shopping list. They’re thinking:

  • The main materials (ceiling fan, paint, shelving)
  • The supporting supplies (screws, brackets, tools)
  • The “while I’m at it” additions (upgrade that switch, fix that other thing)
  • Emergency backups (extra pack of screws, spare paint)

The cart becomes a project checklist, not just a shopping list.

Research: Project-Based Buying Behavior

According to industry data, over 40% of home improvement shoppers in Q4 2025 made purchases for small or large DIY projects (HIRI 2024 Trends). The DIY e-commerce market is projected to grow from $70 billion in 2024 to over $92 billion by 2028 - a 7.1% annual growth rate (Digital Commerce 360).

The Project Completion Pattern

Home improvement customers don’t buy randomly - they buy in project clusters:

  • Renovation projects are growing fastest at 6.75% CAGR (Maximize Market Research)
  • Customers favor short downtime upgrades over multi-month remodels
  • Price-conscious comparison shopping across multiple retailers (Radial Insights)

This creates opportunity: Customers who are comparing prices are also calculating project totals. CartGoals makes the “complete the project in one order” value visible.

How CartGoals Helps DIY Retailers

Free Shipping on Project Bundles

The DIY customer pain point: Ordering parts piecemeal means multiple shipping charges.

CartGoals solution: Show them they’re close to free shipping with that extra pack of screws they’ll need anyway.

Your Cart: $87
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
⬜ Free Shipping at $100 (87% - add $13)

Customer thought process: “I’m $13 away from free shipping. I need sandpaper and wood filler anyway - add them now, save a trip.”

Project Completion Goals

Stack multiple goals that align with project thinking:

  • Free shipping at $100 - Complete the main project
  • 10% off at $200 - Tackle that second project too
  • Free tool rental voucher at $300 - For the big stuff
  • Store credit at $500 - Regular contractors/DIYers

Seasonal Campaign Examples

Spring Home Refresh:

Cart: $147
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
✅ Free Shipping at $100 (UNLOCKED!)
⬜ Free Paint Roller Set at $150 (98% - add $3)
⬜ 15% Off at $200 (74% complete)

Winter Weatherproofing:

Cart: $89
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
⬜ Free Shipping at $100 (89%)
⬜ Free Caulk Gun at $150
⬜ Contractor Discount at $250

Real-World DIY Store Behavior

Home Center Israel Example

Israel’s largest DIY chain serves customers with project-focused buying patterns:

  • Ceiling fan purchase → Also needs wiring, switches, maybe shelving
  • Paint order → Brushes, rollers, drop cloths, painter’s tape
  • Plumbing repair → Multiple fittings, backup parts, sealant

CartGoals insight: Show customers they’re “DKK 200 away from free shipping - grab that extra pack of screws you’ll need anyway.”

Shea Nanda (Candle/Soap Supplies) Example

DIY craft supplies follow the same pattern:

  • Customers aren’t buying one scent or one batch of wax
  • They’re planning their next three creations
  • Lavender essential oil → Also need cedarwood, that new mold, maybe mica powder

CartGoals shows them: “Add one more fragrance oil and unlock free shipping” (they were going to need it next week anyway).

Industry Performance Data

Home improvement e-commerce (2024-2028):

  • Market size: $70B → $92B (Digital Commerce 360)
  • Growth rate: 7.1% annually
  • Project buyers: 40%+ of shoppers (HIRI Trends)
  • Online share: 14% → 16% by 2028

Cart abandonment (Baymard):

  • 70.19% of carts abandoned (Baymard Institute, 2024)
  • 48% due to unexpected costs (shipping fees)
  • 88% more likely to complete with free shipping visibility

Goal-gradient effect:

  • Customers accelerate purchases as they approach rewards (Kivetz et al., 2006)
  • Visual progress bars increase motivation by showing “almost there” proximity

Perfect For

  • Hardware stores - Project-based buying (ceiling fans, wiring, tools)
  • DIY craft supplies - Multi-item recipes (candle making, soap supplies)
  • Building materials - Renovation bundles (paint, brushes, drop cloths)
  • Home organization - Complete room setups (shelving, storage, organizers)
  • Gardening supplies - Seasonal project bundles (seeds, soil, pots, tools)

The DIY Store Advantage

DIY customers already think in project bundles. They’re doing mental math about what they need to complete the job. CartGoals makes that visible:

  • Not upselling - Helping them remember what they need
  • Not manipulating - Showing the free shipping threshold they’d calculate anyway
  • Not pushy - Gentle reminder to grab supplies now vs another order later

The psychology: “You’re $15 away from free shipping - grab those extra screws and sandpaper you’ll need anyway.”

That’s not a sales tactic. That’s helping them complete their project in one delivery.

Multi-Goal Campaigns for Contractors

B2B/contractor customers have different buying patterns:

Cart: $487
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
✅ Free Shipping at $100
✅ 10% Trade Discount at $250
✅ Free Tool Rental at $400
⬜ Contractor Net-30 Terms at $500 (97% - add $13)

Why this works: Contractors are price-sensitive professionals. Show them clear value tiers, they’ll optimize their orders to hit them.

Seasonal Opportunities

Spring (March-May):

  • Home refresh projects
  • Gardening season
  • Outdoor furniture assembly

Summer (June-August):

  • Deck staining/sealing
  • Outdoor lighting
  • Pool/patio supplies

Fall (September-November):

  • Winterproofing
  • HVAC prep
  • Interior painting (before holidays)

Winter (December-February):

  • Indoor projects (basement finishing, drywall)
  • Tool upgrades (using gift cards)
  • Snow removal equipment

CartGoals adapts goals seasonally - free weatherproofing kit in fall, free paint roller set in spring.

Research Backing

Why project-based bundling works:

Research shows DIY customers are price-conscious comparison shoppers (Radial). They’re calculating total project cost across multiple retailers.

CartGoals advantage: If you can show them they’ll save $15 on shipping by completing the order now, you win the comparison.

Goal-gradient psychology: Customers who see “87% toward free shipping” are more likely to add items than those who just see “Free shipping over $100” with no progress indicator (Kivetz et al., 2006).

Bottom Line

DIY customers buy in project bundles, not single items. They’re already mentally building the shopping list for their ceiling fan install, their painting project, their candle-making batch.

CartGoals makes that visible. Show them they’re close to free shipping, they’ll add the supplies they were going to order next week anyway.

Fast delivery means they can complete the project this weekend, not wait for three separate orders to arrive.

References

Ready to help customers complete their projects? Install CartGoals