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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Details) $ in Millions		12 Months Ended
	Jan. 01, 2021 segment	Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Number of reportable segments | segment	2
Service fee revenue (approximately)		1.00%	1.00%	1.00%
Accrued sales returns		$ 34	$ 31
Accrued sales incentives		73	58
Advertising expense		$ 402	319	$ 316
Original maturity of cash (days)		90 days
Percentage of LIFO Inventory		75.00%
Inventory, LIFO Reserve		$ 510	446
Inventory, LIFO Reserve, Effect on Income, Net		49	15	24
Depreciation		123	116	150
Capitalized interest costs		$ 1	4	$ 9
Furniture, fixtures, machinery and equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life				30 years
Building, structures and improvements
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life				30 years
Change in Accounting Method Accounted for as Change in Estimate
Depreciation			$ (34)
Minimum
Buildings, Structures and Improvements, Estimated Useful Life		10 years
Furniture, Fixtures, Machinery Equipment, Estimated Useful Life		15 years
Operating lease renewal term		1 year
Capitalized software amortization period		3 years
Minimum | Furniture, fixtures, machinery and equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life		40 years
Maximum
Buildings, Structures and Improvements, Estimated Useful Life		50 years
Furniture, Fixtures, Machinery Equipment, Estimated Useful Life		3 years
Operating lease renewal term		30 years
Capitalized software amortization period		5 years
Maximum | Furniture, fixtures, machinery and equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life		50 years

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Original Maturity in days for cash.

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Grainger's Service Fee Revenue as a percentage of sales.

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Amount charged to advertising expense for the period, which are expenses incurred with the objective of increasing revenue for a specified brand, product or product line.

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
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Amount of liability for consideration received or receivable from customer which is not included in transaction price, when consideration is expected to be refunded to customer.

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Amount by which inventory stated at last-in first-out (LIFO) is less than (in excess of) inventory stated at other inventory cost methods.

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Term of lessee's operating lease renewal, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

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Number of segments reported by the entity. A reportable segment is a component of an entity for which there is an accounting requirement to report separate financial information on that component in the entity's financial statements.

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Useful life of long lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days. Examples include, but not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment.

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