(Reuters) -Home Depot ( HD ) posted a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly same-store sales on Tuesday as cautious Americans shelled out less for big-ticket items while focusing on small-scale home repair and maintenance tasks.

Customers have reined in discretionary spending and put pricey renovations on hold as they adjust to higher borrowing costs and elevated inflation.

"Home improvement is still a coiled spring," Truist analyst Scot Ciccarelli said, adding that if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates there could be a significant re-acceleration in home improvement or maintenance activity as people focus on improving their existing homes.

Foot traffic at Home Depot ( HD ) ticked down in the first quarter, except for an Easter spending boost in March. Store visits dipped 0.3% in February and 2.4% in April, according to data firm Placer.ai.

Home Depot ( HD ) CEO Ted Decker said the quarter was impacted by a delayed start to spring and continued softness in certain larger discretionary projects.

Customer transactions, or the number of purchases made by Home Depot ( HD ) shoppers at its stores or online, fell 1%, but less than a steep 4.8% drop last year.

Meanwhile, the company is bulking up its Pro business segment consisting of professional builders and contractors by agreeing in March to buy SRS Distribution in an $18.25 billion deal.

Comparable sales fell for the sixth straight quarter, down 2.8% in the first quarter, compared with analysts' estimates of a 2.09% drop, according to LSEG data.

Still, the top U.S. home improvement chain reaffirmed its fiscal 2024 targets as it benefits from the small renovations Americans are taking up in their existing homes.

It expects comparable sales to decline about 1% and earnings-per-share-percent growth of about 1%.

First-quarter earnings of $3.63 per share edged past estimates of $3.60.

Shares of the Atlanta-based firm were largely flat in volatile premarket trading.

(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)