The Farm Store Is Becoming a Project Store: What Tool Brands Are Missing

For years, many tool and home improvement brands have viewed retailers like Tractor Supply, Fleet Farm, and Blain’s Farm & Fleet through a narrow lens. They were considered agricultural retailers: places associated with feed, fencing, livestock supplies, and rural lifestyles. That view is becoming increasingly outdated.

Recent assortment expansions, including Tractor Supply’s addition of SKIL power tools and nearly 200 new electrical products from brands such as Klein Tools, Leviton, GE, Kidde, and Coast, highlight a larger shift underway. These retailers are increasingly competing for project, maintenance, repair, and utility purchases that have traditionally flowed through home centers, hardware stores, and ecommerce channels.

The biggest misconception may be that these stores primarily serve farmers. While agriculture remains foundational, today’s customer base is much broader. Walk these stores and you’ll find customers purchasing products for equipment maintenance, trailer repair, workshop upgrades, electrical projects, property upkeep, outdoor structures, and everyday home improvement tasks. The common thread isn’t agriculture, it’s utility. Customers are visiting these retailers because they have something that needs to be fixed, maintained, improved, or completed.

This shift aligns with a broader change in how both consumers and Pros shop. Increasingly, purchases are driven by the project rather than the channel. Trades ProPulse research shows that Home Depot (83%) and Lowe’s (74%) remain core destinations for material purchases, while 75% of Pros buy online and 45% continue to purchase from local hardware and specialty retailers. More importantly, 45% choose stores primarily based on convenience, 35% prioritize immediate availability, and 43% will switch retailers if a needed product is out of stock.

These findings reinforce an important reality: customers are optimizing for project completion, not channel loyalty. A contractor may buy materials from a home center, order specialty products online, and pick up a replacement tool from the nearest retailer that has inventory available. The retailer that solves the problem quickly often wins the sale.

That’s why retailers like Tractor Supply have permission to expand beyond their traditional categories. Consumers already trust these stores for work, maintenance, preparedness, and problem-solving. Adding power tools, electrical products, hardware, and shop supplies feels like a natural extension of that role. The retailer isn’t changing its identity; it’s expanding its relevance within the customer’s project journey.

For brands, the strategic implication is significant. Too many companies still evaluate retailers through a channel lens, asking whether a retailer should be classified as agricultural, hardware, home improvement, or specialty. The better question is: What projects are customers trying to complete when they shop there?

The answer can unlock new opportunities in assortment planning, merchandising, packaging, retail activation, and distribution strategy. As project-driven shopping continues to reshape retail, retailers that help customers complete tasks efficiently will earn a larger share of wallet.

These retailers are no longer competing solely to be farm stores. They’re increasingly competing to be project destinations. For tool and home improvement brands, recognizing that shift early may create a meaningful competitive advantage.