Is Wayfair Online Only? (All You Need To Know)

Wayfair’s website is chock full of items, some 14 million from 11,000 different suppliers, so there is something for every budget and taste.

But have you ever shopped the site and wanted to visit a Wayfair store, so you could touch the items and see them in person? You’re not alone.

But it begs the question: Is Wayfair online only, or do they have brick-and-mortar locations that you can visit? I have the answer your question just below!

Is Wayfair Online Only In [currentyear]?

Wayfair is mostly online, with the exception of one outlet store in Florence, KY, and one store under their AllModern brand.

The company previously had a Wayfair store open in Natick, MA, but it closed in 2021. Currently, Wayfair has a 100,000-square-foot retail space in the King of Prussia Mall in the works.

To learn more about what Wayfair is and how it works as an online commerce site, what kind of site it is and why it’s so cheap and even if you can pick up from a Wayfair warehouse, keep going!

What Is Wayfair And How Does it Work?

Wayfair is an “ecommerce home décor giant,” though it is slowly creating a physical footprint through brick-and-mortar stores along the eastern seaboard.

It was founded in 2002 in Boston, MA, by Niraj Shah and Steve Conine, Cornell University grads who built the company out of a spare bedroom of Conine’s.

Fast forward 12 years, and Wayfair was sufficiently large enough to go public, entering the NASDAQ in 2014.

Across its five brands (Wayfair, AllModern, Joss & Main, Birch Lane and Perigold), Wayfair sells 14 million items, proffered by 11,000 suppliers.

Does Wayfair actually warehouse all these items? Not exactly.

About 70 to 80 percent of Wayfair’s stock never passes into Wayfair’s hands at all. That’s because Wayfair operates mostly under what is known as drop shipping.

Basically, when a customer places an order, Wayfair purchases the item from the supplier. The supplier then, ships it out to the customer.

Wayfair is a storefront for these 11,000 suppliers, one of the most popular on the Internet.

This is why, until recent years, Wayfair has remained an online store only.

But the times they are a-changin’. In 2019, Wayfair opened their first physical, brick-and-mortar location in Natick, MA.

While it closed in 2020, with the company claiming it was always just an “opportunity for us to experiment with physical retail,” they’ve got other stores in the works.

In May 2022, for example, they opened their first AllModern store in Lynnefield, MA, with plans to open to more by the end of the year.

And according to this report, Wayfair will finally start work on a 100,000 square foot (former JC Penny) retail space, in the King of Prussia Mall.

It is expected to open in 2023 or 2024.

What Kind Of Site Is Wayfair?

What Kind Of Site Is Wayfair?

Wayfair is an Internet website that sells home furnishings and décor, as well as options for the office and outdoor living spaces.

On it, customers can make purchases, message the company with any concerns/complaints, initiate returns and request refunds and even create a wedding registry.

There is also the 3D Room Planner, a tool where customers can replicate the room they wish to furnish and see how it would look when it’s completed.

Why Is Wayfair So Cheap?

Wayfair manages to offer such low prices because of two factors.

First, without a huge real estate footprint (though it is growing), Wayfair doesn’t have to deal with building upkeep, utilities or even salespeople.

Then there is also the supplier relations Wayfair has established.

Because they sell in large quantities, they can negotiate lower prices on items with the suppliers from whom they buy when a customer places an order.

That, in turn, allows Wayfair to charge lower prices to the customer.

Is Wayfair A Reliable Website?

Wayfair is a reliable website that is used by millions of customers across the U.S.

While the delivery date quoted can be off due to delays, most of the time, the shipping is fast and, if you spend $35, free.

If you receive an item that is defective or damaged, Wayfair allows you to return it for free; otherwise, you pay the return shipping out of your refund.

Can You Pick Up From Wayfair Warehouse?

Wayfair currently does not allow you to pick up items from their warehouses; you must go through the appropriate channels to have your items shipped.

Shipping is free over $35, and in some cases, the delivery window is as little as two days or even one day!

To learn more, you can also read our posts on where to buy Wayfair gift cards, is Wayfair legitimate, and does Wayfair have Afterpay.

Conclusion

Wayfair was online only until 2019, when they opened their first brick-and-mortar location in Natick, MA.

Though that shop has since closed, Wayfair has a handful of other physical locations coming down the pipeline, including one 100,000 square foot Wayfair store in the King of Prussia Mall.

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Marques Thomas

Marques Thomas graduated with a MBA in 2011. Since then, Marques has worked in the retail and consumer service industry as a manager, advisor, and marketer. Marques is also the head writer and founder of QuerySprout.com.

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