The Home Depot will begin cutting prices this week on as many as 1,200 items as it kicks off its latest effort to boost sales in a down economy, the Associated Press reported. Prices will be cut from 5 percent to 50 percent on about one out of every 25 items in the store.

The big box retailer didn’t reveal what the average reduction will be, but said the discounts will start showing up in stores this week and will last at least through the next quarter.

“We’re trying to gain market share in the process,” Craig Menear, Home Depot’s executive vice president-merchandising told the AP. “Absolutely, we're trying to drive sales and productivity.”

Among the marked-down items: energy-saving devices, such as insulation and thermostats, and “project starters,” such as paint and toilets, which are the building blocks for DIYers.

SOURCE: Home Channel News