Lifestyle Changes Create Boon for Tractor Supply

Tractor Supply Co. saw sales grow by 35 percent in the quarter ended June 27. Its net income jumped 54.5 percent.

Despite its name, the retailer sells everything ranging from pet food, gardening materials to live poultry and apparel. That has worked to its advantage during the coronavirus pandemic: A customer who might have dropped in to buy chicken feed might also pick up some t-shirts instead of visiting multiple stores and risking exposure to the coronavirus.

All of its categories—including apparel—saw double-digit percentage growth last quarter compared with a year earlier.

Lifestyle changes resulting from the pandemic also worked in Tractor Supply’s favor: People are shifting their spending toward home maintenance and outdoor activities, adopting pets at a higher rate and moving out of populated areas. Backyard poultry has become such a popular category that the company is still running its annual “Chick Days” event, which usually occurs during the spring.

Tractor Supply’s chief executive said the company saw a 14 percent year-over-year increase in new customers last quarter, the fastest pace in its 82-year history. New visitors tended to be younger with higher income, and more were female than the company’s existing base. Some of them were new to the neighborhood where the stores were located.

Source: Wall Street Journal