Jeff Kinnaird
Executive Vice President-Merchandising at Home Depot
Thank you, Ted, and good morning, everyone. I want to start by also thanking all of our associates and supplier partners for their ongoing commitments to serving our customers and communities. As you hear from Ted during the first quarter, we continued to see outsized demand for home improvement projects and strong execution from our teams and supplier partners.
Turning to our comp performance during the first quarter, 11 of our 14 merchandising apartments posted positive comps led by plumbing, building materials, millwork and paint. During the first quarter of this year, we saw double-digit negative comps in our Seasonal departments due to the late arrival of spring. Appliances posted slightly negative comps. Adjusting for a shift and event timing, appliance comps would've been positive for the quarter. Excluding seasonal categories, we were thrilled that the broad based strength across the business in healthy project demand.
During the first quarter, our comp average ticket increased 11.2% and comp transactions decreased 8.4%. The growth in our comp average ticket was driven primarily by inflation across several product categories, as well as demand for new and innovative products. Comp transactions reflect the late start to spring and the anniversarying of stimulus. And on a two-year and three-year basis, both comp average ticket and comp transactions were healthy and positive.
Inflation from core commodity categories positively impacts our average ticket growth by approximately 240 basis points during the first quarter, driven by inflation and lumber, copper and building materials. Lumber prices remain volatile during the quarter. As an example, framing lumber peaked at approximately $1,300 per a thousand board feet during the first quarter before falling over $400 to approximately $900. Big ticket comp transactions were those over $1,000, were up 12.4% compared to the first quarter of last year. We saw big ticket strength across many Pro-heavy categories like pipe and fittings, gypsum and fasteners.
During the first quarter, Pro sales growth outpaced DIY. On a three-year comp basis, both growth with our -- growth with both our Pro and DIY customers was consistent and strong. We're encouraged by the momentum we are seeing with our Pros and they tell us that their backlogs are strong. And during the quarter, we saw many of our customers turn to Pros to help them with larger renovation projects. This can be seen in the double-digit comp performance of our building materials and plumbing departments, as well as in certain kitchen and bath categories like in-stock kitchens, tubs and showers and countertops. We also saw double-digit growth in our kitchen and bath installation business. This underscores the strength of project demand we are seeing across the business.
Sales leveraging our digital platforms increased 3.7%. During the first quarter, we are very pleased with the performance of our digital assets, as we delivered the highest sales dollar volume in our company history. For those customers that chose to transact with us online during the first quarter, more than 50% of our online orders were fulfilled through our stores, a testament to the power of our interconnected retail strategy.
As you heard from Ted, we are very excited about the innovation we are introducing across the business. We continue to lean into products that simplify the project, saving our customers time and helping them take on more jobs. One example is, our Viega ProPress line of plumbing, here plumbers can create a water type copper connection in 60% less time than a traditional copper solder job. Viega ProPress fittings require no flame and work in wet applications. Viega is the market leader in this space and is exclusive to the Home Depot in the big box channel.
In paint, working with Masco and PPG, we have put together a formidable Pro Paint lineup that is resonating with our Pro painters. Masco's bear formulated Pro specific offering continues to perform well in our stores. And in the first quarter, we added PPG SPEEDHIDE series, this Pro specific paint that is specked in the vast majority of multi-housing and large commercial jobs, giving us an entry point with our Pro painter for larger scale projects. And this is now exclusive to the Home Depot in the big box channel.
In spray paint, we launch PPG's GLIDDEN MAX FLEX spray paint. PPG's proprietary industrial based technology is uniquely flexible covering and preserving the original look and feel of a wide range of services, including leather and fabric. And with Masco, we've expanded their exclusive offerings to spray paint, caulks and sealants, as well as interior stains.
Now let's turn our attention to spring. In the exciting lineup of projects we have for our customers, we are thrilled to showcase our new product offerings across our seasonal categories. We are seeing an industry-wide shift from gas-powered to battery-powered mowers. Demand for cordless mowers has never been stronger, and our lineup of battery-powered mowers, including Ryobi's 80V zero-turn riding mower, Milwaukee's new M18 fuel walk mower, DEWALT's FLEXVOLT walk mower and Makita's LXT walk mower is unmatched. This lineup offers something for everyone, building on an ecosystem of innovative tools powered by the same battery platforms.
In patio, we have continued to add optionality and today customers can create their perfect patio set to transform their outdoor living space to an enhanced online experience. And we expanded our assortment of grills. We're particularly excited about our new Traeger Timberline XL, which provides a larger cooking surface, easier maintenance and a side burner to enhance your cooking needs. And our new NEEVO NEX-fi grill is the first propane powered grill controlled via app or your mobile device. The app displays timers, grill temperatures and internal food temperatures providing a consistent cooking experience for hours.
We're also excited about our live goods program. Each year, our merchants' provider customers with new and improved varieties to enhance the overall garden experience. We've expanded our disease and drought resistant products offering superior performance. For example, Beacon Impatiens are disease resistant and our easy way petunias now require less sunlight and lasts up to six weeks longer, adding these new heartier plants allows our customers to have a vibrant and healthier garden for longer. Our live good category looks incredible. We are ready for spring from everything from shrub to a variety of flower and edible for every type of gardener.
And with that, I turn the call over to Richard.