A Wayfair Store Is Coming to the Natick Mall This Year
It's the first of its kind.
Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah and co-founder Steve Conine | Photo provided
Wayfair, the Boston-based furniture retailer that seems to be growing larger and more omnipresent by the second, is taking a new step forward this year. The company announced Tuesday it plans to open a first-of-its-kind retail store at the Natick Mall by “early fall” of 2019.
Shoppers can expect to get a hands-on look at furniture before buying it—a departure from the typical Wayfair shopping experience, which involves flipping through photos and videos—and there will also be non-furniture items for sale on-site, according to an announcement from the company.
Wayfair will invite shoppers into the store to explore the unlimited possibilities in home enabled by its flagship e-commerce site. Shopping at the Wayfair store and online will be a seamless, connected experience for shoppers. Customer service and home design experts will be available to offer complimentary design consultations to customers, providing recommendations for everything from home improvement projects to décor. Shoppers will be able to immediately purchase an assortment of products in store and also have orders placed for delivery to their homes.
Wayfair experimented with colorful, immersive pop-up shops during last year’s holiday shopping season, including one set up at the Natick Mall and another one in New Jersey. Rumored plans to open a brick-and-mortar store on Boylston Street have not panned out.
Four other Wayfair pop-ups will be, well, popping up this year as well, the company says. It did not say where.
Earlier this year, Wayfair debuted its first brick-and-mortar presence at a 20,000-square-foot store near its warehouse in Kentucky, where it sells furniture that has been returned.
“With the opening of our new retail store, we are offering our customers a new way to enjoy Wayfair’s exceptional shopping experience as we continue to transform the way people shop for their homes,” CEO Niraj Shah says in a statement. “We look forward to inviting our customers further into the world of Wayfair, welcoming them to step inside our newest shopping experience guided by the knowledgeable support and expertise of our in-store design team.”
