We look to grow our dividend every year as we grow earnings. And as you heard from Craig, today, we announced our board of directors increased our quarterly dividend by 10%. In mid-March, we suspended our share repurchases as part of several steps we took to further enhance our strong liquidity position.
As customers accelerate their adoption of an interconnected shopping experience, we have seen increased usage of these different fulfillment options. During the second quarter, we saw triple-digit growth across all these platforms. During the second quarter, big-ticket comp transactions or those over $1,000, were up approximately 16%. We saw very strong performance across a number of big-ticket categories like appliances, riding lawnmowers and patio furniture. However, this strength was partially offset by softer performance in certain indoor installation-heavy categories like special order kitchens and countertops. We saw strong sales growth with both our Pro and DIY customers, with DIY sales growing faster than Pro sales.
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These online workshops have driven a deeper level of engagement and connectivity with our participating customers. One thing that did not change in fiscal 2020 is our disciplined approach to capital allocation to create value for our shareholders. We remain committed to growing our dividend as earnings grow. As a result, today, we announced our board approved a 10% increase in our quarterly dividend to $1.65 per share which equates to an annual dividend of $6.60 per share.
Kitchen and bath, we said it was just under double digit. So again, it was the heavy installation of kitchen-oriented product. But just super strength and add that we'd like the medium and longer-term implications of this. I mean really, the strength we had in the business was throughout the categories as well as throughout our geographies. We were super pleased with that performance and that growth in the second quarter.
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But the most important thing is we know that in today's world retailers have to continue to invest to be able to stay with customer needs and expectations. And those that haven't done that over the years, unfortunately, the roads are littered with retailers that didn't do that. As we've discussed, the cordless outdoor power market continues to outpace growth of the gas market.
Over the course of the third and fourth quarters, we made significant improvements to our in-stock positions while supporting massive sales volumes. While there is always room for improvement and there are some current court -- port delays, we believe we are well-positioned as we head into our busy Spring selling season. Moving on to comp performance in the fourth quarter, all of our merchandising departments posted double-digit comps, led by our lumber and indoor garden departments.
HD earnings call for the period ending Aug. 2, 2020.
As Ted called out, when it comes to completing a room, our HD Home categories of completion, we're seeing tremendous growth there as the customer purchases that product online. We did see good Pro sales growth across all cohort toward all end markets and all geographies. There was notable strength with the low-spend Pro.
Diluted earnings per share were $2.65 for the fourth quarter. Our results this quarter once again were driven by broad-based strength across the business and geographies. Diluted earnings per share increased 16.5% to $11.94 for the year.
Mar 29, 2020 - Daylight Saving Time Started
So, you -- you -- as you've heard from Craig, scale matters. Our position is low-cost provider matters and our investments put us in a position to extend both. The housing environment remains strong as increased demand for single-family homes has driven housing turnover and home price appreciation. Given these uncertainties, we're limited in our ability to forecast demand for the year, particularly as it relates to the back half.
Our customers tell us that they plan to continue to invest in a wide variety of projects to maintain and enhance their homes. All of our top 40 markets posted double-digit comps, while Canada posted comps above the company average and Mexico posted double-digit comps in local currency. As Ted will detail, big-ticket comp transactions were up double digits in the quarter and we saw strong double-digit growth from both the Pro and DIY customers. We had a record holiday season as our modified approach to Black Friday and gift center events clearly resonated with our customers.
Clearly, our customers engaged with home improvement in a meaningful way. Comp sales were up 23.4% from last year with U.S. comps of positive 25%. Diluted earnings per share were $4.02 in the second quarter. These record results were driven by broad-based strength across our stores and geographies. After investing in the business, it is our intent to return excess cash to shareholders through a balanced approach of paying a healthy dividend and through share repurchases.
We have been able to leverage investments we have made in the scale and flexibility of our supply chain network to relieve some of the pressure. Our interconnected retail strategy and underlying technology infrastructures have supported record web traffic on a consistent basis for the past several months. Sales leveraging our digital platforms increased approximately 100% in the quarter and more than 60% of the time, our customers opted to pick up their order at a store. The rate at which customers are authenticating with us has also accelerated which provides us with a unique opportunity to know our customers even better. The Atlanta, GA-based home improvement retailer continues to be a money-making machine as the stock is up more than 30% year-to-date despite a global recession. This time is different as housing strength is boosting sales, while shelter in place orders caused customers to invest more in their own homes.
