Furniture retailer Wayfair has launched Wayfair On Air, offering immersive video commerce experiences designed to seamlessly connect mobile app users to product discovery and purchase. New episodes will premiere daily throughout the week, featuring a combination of studio show formats and glimpses into creators’ own homes.
Shoppers can access Wayfair On Air by tapping the “Watch” button in the Wayfair app, choosing from dozens of episodes and browsing all the featured products. They can then add their favorite items to their Lists or shopping cart as part of a single unbroken experience. The service is currently available for iOS users of the Wayfair mobile app.
At launch, studio content includes The Wayfair Rundown, a daily format focusing on affordable, inspirational solutions for homes of every size and style, and Two-Spaced, designed around multi-functional living. Creators include celebrity chef Danny Boome, family blogger Amiyrah Martin and shopping expert Albany Irvin. Shoppers also can tune in to discover holiday deals and seasonal tips.
“With Wayfair On Air, we’re bringing amazing video content to our seamless mobile shopping experience, making product discovery entertaining and fun,” said Steve Oblak, Chief Commercial Officer at Wayfair in a statement. “We look forward to building upon this feature as we further expand our cast of creators and deliver even richer content experiences that engage and inspire our customers.”
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Video commerce and livestreaming are quickly becoming part of many retailers’ customer engagement arsenals, including Petco, Albertsons and Walmart. However, few brands currently commit to producing enough content on their own for daily programming updates. Additionally, many retailers leverage the built-in audiences on social platforms such as Pinterest for their livestreaming efforts. However, Wayfair has frequently positioned itself on the cutting edge of innovation; for example, the retailer added AR to the Android version of its mobile app in March 2018.
Additionally, while Wayfair operates brick-and-mortar stores, it sees its strongest opportunities in digital commerce. In Q3 2021, Wayfair generated $3.1 million in revenue, down from $3.8 million during the same period in 2020. The retailer also suffered a net loss of $78 million in Q3 2021, compared to a $173.1 million profit in Q3 2020.
“As various geographies reopened post-pandemic, consumers naturally shifted some spend towards travel and entertainment and from ecommerce towards brick-and-mortar,” said Niraj Shah, CEO of Wayfair in a statement. “Demand and interest in the home remains resilient, but it will take a few more quarters for our growth — and ecommerce growth in general — to get back to normal.”
