Wayfair, the online furniture company, announced that it is planning to open three brick-and-mortar stores next year, which will all be located in the state of Massachusetts.
The online furniture company will give consumers the ability to purchase products both at stores and also for delivery. Two of the three stores will be for the company's AllModern brand while the other will be for its Joss & Main brand. The three stores scheduled to open this year are part of a concerted retail push from the company. Wayfair is planning to open stores for all of its five brands over the next two years, with the other two brands being Birch Lane and Perigold.
"We look forward to unveiling the next evolution of our specialty retail brands through this exciting new channel," said Karen McKibbin, Wayfair's Head of Physical Retail, in a press release.
E-Commerce Brick-And-Mortar Launches
Wayfair to Focus on Retail with Three New Stores in 2022
Trend Themes
1. Omnichannel Retailing - Wayfair's move to launch brick-and-mortar stores while still concentrating on online shopping presents an opportunity for businesses to deploy omnichannel strategies that bridge the gap between e-commerce and in-store experiences.
2. Digital Transformation - Disruptive innovation opportunities arise from Wayfair's move towards physical stores as other e-commerce businesses may need to leverage digital technologies to redefine the customer experience and make transformative changes to their operations.
3. Hyper-localized Store Networks - Wayfair's focus on launching its stores in Massachusetts and eventually nationwide presents businesses with an opportunity to create hyper-localized store networks to get closer to customers and personalize the shopping experience.
Industry Implications
1. Retail Industry - Wayfair's brick-and-mortar strategy has the potential to disrupt traditional retail operations as well as encourage other e-commerce retailers to diversify their business models and expand operations into physical stores.
2. Logistics and Supply Chain Industry - The move towards offering customers both online and in-store shopping channels presents a prime opportunity for logistics and supply chain companies to implement industry 4.0 technologies such as predictive analytics, automation, data sensors and blockchain to optimize omnichannel retail logistics.
3. Real Estate Industry - As e-commerce companies expand into the brick-and-mortar space, the real estate industry is primed to capitalize on new leasing opportunities and create innovative spaces to meet the needs of tenants.