Lowe’s has promoted Chief Marketing Officer Jen Wilson from senior vice president to executive vice president and added digital commerce — Lowes.com and its third-party Marketplace — to a portfolio that already included marketing, retail media, loyalty and personalization. Wilson has spent more than 20 years at Lowe’s in marketing and merchandising roles, including leading the paint business, and became CMO in June 2024. She now joins the executive leadership team.
The numbers explain the move. Comparable sales rose just 0.2% in Q2 2026, while online sales grew 15.7%. Lowe’s cut its full-year outlook last month amid a weak housing market and elevated interest rates, making online a rare bright spot. The evolving CMO role is following the revenue.
More than 80% of home improvement shopping starts online, Wilson said, and a seamless experience depends on a unified view of customer data. Many retailers, Lowe’s included, still personalize channel by channel — in CRM, in paid social — rather than across the whole journey. “Real transformation is going to happen when we’re creating omnichannel, end-to-end personalization, and to do that, we have to have it all in one place,” she said.
“The notion that the funnel is evaporating in front of us is true,” Wilson said, adding that traditional advertising still matters but is only part of modern marketing. Social has moved down-funnel through affiliate marketing and creator networks; Lowe’s launched a creator network last year, and Wilson built its loyalty program and retail media network. Her definition of the job: driving revenue, customer lifetime value and share of wallet.
One notable side effect: “When you expand your assortment, you expand your SEO value, and your visibility goes up with natural search,” Wilson said. “Then you have the efficiency of being able to reduce some of your paid search spend.” Marketplace also revealed a high-end customer segment buying premium faucets and chandeliers not sold in stores, letting Lowe’s spot opportunities where natural demand appears.
Lowe’s move mirrors Target handing its new CMO guest experience and retail media. CMOs are shifting from campaign owners to executives accountable for revenue and customer experience, and Wilson credits her P&L experience for helping her adapt.
For other brands and retailers, the lesson is structural: without unified customer data, personalization stays trapped inside individual channels. And if you run retail media, pair ad-sales performance with customer experience, as explored in reading Olive Young’s retail media from the brand side. As Wilson put it, no one keeps walls up for someone who is championing the customer.
Marketing, retail media, loyalty and personalization, plus digital commerce through Lowes.com and the third-party Marketplace. She also joined the executive leadership team.
Online sales grew 15.7% in Q2 while comparable sales rose only 0.2%, and more than 80% of home improvement shopping starts online, so a unified customer experience and data view became critical.
A wider assortment increased SEO value and organic visibility, allowing some paid search savings, and revealed a high-end customer segment.
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