Lowe's Review

Monday, October 14th

2024 Christmas Tree Store Reviews

Lowe's

• Prices range from $45 to $6,800
• Extensive catalog with over 3,000 Christmas trees
• Easy category-based shopping
• Options for varying tree realism
• 360-degree views and videos for each product
• Affordable options with high customer ratings
• Free shipping on orders over $45
• 90-day return policy
• A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau

Lowe's has been a familiar name in the retail landscape for close to 80 years, and they've naturally expanded their presence online. Known primarily as a home improvement store, they also offer a diverse range of Christmas trees during the festive season. They boast a variety of styles and price points to cater to different tastes, but let's examine how they measure up against other online tree retailers in terms of selection, pricing, and overall customer satisfaction.

Extensive catalog

Lowe's boasts an impressive catalog of over 3,000 Christmas trees, ensuring there's a tree for every taste and style. When you land on Lowe's Christmas tree webpage, you'll find a variety of categories to guide your shopping experience. Although it might not be immediately obvious, the images representing these categories are actually clickable links. By clicking on these, you're directed to a more specific browsing page where you can explore the types of trees that interest you most.

Shop by tree realism

One standout category is "Tree Realism," which breaks down the available options into three levels of realism.

• "Traditional Trees" offer a classic look, utilizing soft, flat polyvinyl chloride (PVC) needles that mimic, but don't fully replicate, natural evergreen needles.
• Next up are the "Realistic Trees," which blend PVC and high-quality polyethylene (PE) materials to create a mixed-foliage appearance that's more lifelike. PE tips add a sense of realism, particularly around the outer layers, while PVC acts as a filler near the trunk.
• For those who demand the ultimate in authenticity, Lowe's offers "Most Realistic Trees". These models are primarily constructed from PE needles, capturing the nuanced texture and color variations you'd find on a genuine evergreen. This category offers the most authentic, true-to-life appearance.

Immersive browsing experience

The product image carousel has everything. You can enjoy 360-degree views, watch product videos, and see images showing potential decoration and placement in a home setting. This gives Lowe's shoppers a clear idea of how the tree might fit and look in their own spaces. Also check the reviews for photos from actual customers.

Surprising bestsellers

Interestingly, when you click on the "shop all trees” link, the second featured tree has a unique design where a mannequin bust sits atop, making the tree resemble a skirt complete with a plaid gift bow sash. While quirky, it's not the bestseller. The title for bestseller actually goes to the 7.5-ft Candlewood Pine Pre-lit Flocked Artificial Christmas Tree with large LED bulb lights, priced at $398 with 4.7 stars from over 300 ratings. It's not your typical traditional blank-slate evergreen tree: don't get us wrong, it's pretty, but if this is the tree they sell the most, we think that indicates Lowe's is not most people's first choice when they're shopping for their tree. Indeed, when we looked at the reviews, people who'd purchased it said it was the second or third addition to their existing collection of Christmas trees.

Affordable options with high ratings

For those on a budget, the $100 to $200 price range at Lowe's offers great choices. One standout is the 7.5-ft Pine Pre-lit Pencil Artificial Christmas Tree with LED Lights, which has garnered predominantly 5 and 4-star reviews from over 100 customers. It's praised for its ease of assembly, sturdiness, and lifelike appearance. Within this price range, you'll also find a variety of flocked trees and options in colors beyond the traditional green.

Free shipping

All orders over $45 qualify for free shipping, which applies to every Christmas tree Lowe's has in stock.

90 days for returns

Shopping for a Christmas tree online at Lowe's? Here's what you need to know about their return policy. Most new, unused merchandise can be refunded or exchanged within 90 days of the original purchase date, as long as you have proof of purchase. The catch is if you're not satisfied and want to return your tree, it should ideally be in "like new" condition, although they don't explicitly say it has to be unopened. If you paid with a debit card or a Lowe's gift card, expect your refund to take a different form, like cash or in-store credit. One more thing: holiday items must be returned on or before the day of the holiday. So, if you're thinking of sending back that Christmas tree, make sure you do it before Christmas Day.

Where are the live trees?

At some point, Lowe's definitely dabbled in selling live Christmas trees. A couple of clues give it away, like the tab header on their Christmas trees landing page proclaiming, "Real & Artificial Christmas Trees for Sale." However, during our review, we couldn't find a live tree in sight. Now, it's possible that these elusive live trees make an appearance closer to the holiday season, but a little heads-up on the website wouldn't hurt, right? For all the early birds who like to get a jump-start on holiday planning, knowing whether live trees will be in stock is important. After all, if it's early enough for Christmas decorations to be hitting the shelves, then it's certainly early enough to be thinking about whether you'll go for a live tree this year.

Earns BBB's top rating

Lowe's has been serving customers for nearly 80 years, and here's a fun fact: they've been accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 1977 (to put that in perspective, that's longer than some of our experts at TCR have been alive). We're pleased to report that the BBB has awarded them its top honor with an "A+" rating. However, let's not gloss over the fact that there have been some complaints on the BBB page. While no company is immune to feedback, most of the gripes revolve around in-store interactions and some confusion regarding promotional deals. The good news? These concerns probably won't affect your online Christmas tree shopping experience.

Respectable runner-up

We're big fans of Lowe's over here. We find them quite comparable to another top-rated choice, especially in terms of selection and business model. However, there are a couple of distinct differences worth noting. On the positive side, Lowe's offers an even broader range of artificial trees, numbering around a thousand more than their closest competitor: another home improvement store with brick-and-mortar locations. On the downside, at the time of this evaluation Lowe's lacked an option for live trees, which for us is a significant drawback. For that reason, Lowe's ranked a little lower on our list. Still, we're happy to give Lowe's a solid overall recommendation if you're shopping for Christmas trees.