Online sales for Home Depot increased 17% during the third quarter, while U.S. comparable-store sales grew 5.9%.

The Home Depot Inc. continues to see double-digit increases in its online sales.

Online sales grew over 17% for the quarter compared with a year earlier and represented 5.6% of overall sales compared with 5.1% in Q3 2015, CEO Craig Menear said during Home Depot’s fiscal third quarter earnings call with analysts on Tuesday.

Home Depot does not break out e-commerce numbers, but based on total sales, online sales were $1.30 billion in Q3, up 17.1% from $1.11 billion in fiscal Q3 2015.

More than 40% of online orders were picked up in stores, which the company views as a positive sign for the continued relevance of its physical presence.

During the third quarter ended Oct. 30, Home Depot rolled out a complete redesign of HomeDepot.com and an updated mobile app.

“The update includes an expanded buy box which now makes it easier for our customers to select their preferred fulfillment option at checkout, whether that be delivered to home or picked up in store,” Ted Decker, executive vice president, merchandising, told analysts, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript. “These changes have already yielded positive results as we have seen improvements in overall site performance.”

Home Depot also continues to roll out its “buy online, deliver from store” system, which allows customers to buy something online and schedule delivery from a local store, similar to how they would set up delivery for an in-store purchase. The option is now available at about 1,600 stores, Menear says, up from about 700 he reported at the end of the second quarter. Home Depot has 2,275 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Home Depot, No. 7 in the Internet Retailer 2016 Top 500 Guide, has been working to beef up its omnichannel capabilities and also has seen consistent double-digit growth of its online sales this year. Online sales were up 19% during the second quarter and 21.5% during the first quarter.

For the fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 30, Home Depot also reported:

Sales of $23.15 billion, up 6.1% from $21.82 billion from the year-earlier quarter.

Net earnings of $1.97 billion, up 13.9% from $1.73 billion.

Comparable-store sales were up 5.5%, and comparable sales for U.S. stores were up 5.9%.

For the nine months ended Oct. 30, it reported:

Sales of $72.39 billion, up 7.2% from $67.54 billion a year ago.

Net earnings of $6.21 billion, up 12.1% from $5.54 billion.

(Source: internetretailer.com  Author: JAMES MELTON)