Home Depot and Lowe’s didn’t become top national radio advertisers by accident. New research and analysis from Audacy makes the case for why the home improvement category and radio are a natural fit and why digital channels aren’t keeping up.
The findings draw on a Nielsen Commspoint analysis of the home improvement retail category using US 2025 data, examining channel performance across all adults and campaign categories.
According to the data, radio drove awareness among 56% of ad-exposed consumers in the category, compared to 50% for display, 48% for social media, 40% for CTV, and 35% for search. The pattern held through consideration and conversion: radio posted 48% and 53%, respectively, against CTV’s 34% and 38%.
Adding radio to an existing digital campaign amplified performance further. Nielsen data cited in the report shows home improvement brands can boost digital channel performance by up to 29% when radio is included in the media mix, with search seeing the largest lift at 29% for conversion.
On ROI, a separate Nielsen Marketing Mix Model analysis of thousands of campaigns ranked radio number two across all media channels, returning $2.00 per dollar spent, putting AM/FM ahead of streaming audio ($1.69), video ($1.56), display ($1.52), podcasts ($1.49), TV ($1.47), print ($1.47), out-of-home ($1.33), and search ($1.16). CTV ranked last at $1.15.
The white paper, authored by Audacy SVP Research & Insights Ray Borelli, points to radio’s listening environment as a key driver. Research cited in the report shows 30% of CTV ads play in an empty room, and another 22% play with viewers present but not watching. Less than 2% of social media ads receive a click. Neuro research cited in the report found radio listeners stay engaged with ad messaging for up to 13 exposures before wearout becomes a factor.
Borelli also notes that more than 80% of radio listening occurs between 6a and 7p, when consumers are most likely outside the home and closest to making purchases. Heavy radio listeners are 14% more likely to be home improvement intenders and 17% more likely to be among the category’s biggest spenders, according to Scarborough USA+ 2025 data cited in the report.
