Credit Card, Wedding Registry Helps Wayfair In Q4

Wayfair, the online home furnishing retailer, benefited from its new wedding registry and private-label credit card in 2016.

According to a report quoted by Internet Retailer, both initiatives enabled Wayfair to acquire new customers as well as boost loyalty among its existing base. The report cited comments Wayfair made when it reported quarterly earnings last week. Wayfair reported eCommerce sales for 2016 that were up close to 60 percent to $3.26 billion, compared with 2015 when sales were $2.04 billion. For the fourth quarter, Wayfair said sales were up close to 40 percent to $959 million. That compares to $685.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. The private-label credit card, which went live in 2016, has resulted in customers with the card going to the website more often and spending more money than average customers.

“This is because the card attracts more loyal customers and further increases their loyalty by repeat [purchases] once they are our cardholder,”  Steve Conine, cofounder of Wayfair, said during an earnings conference call, noted the report. According to Wayfair, 58 percent of its fourth-quarter orders came from customers who have purchased at Wayfair before. The credit card includes loyalty aspects such as reward points, a discount off the first purchase and financing offers. Wayfair noted that 10 percent of sales during the fourth quarter were made via the private-label credit card.

As for Wayfair’s wedding registry, which went live in September, Wayfair said that among the 50,000 wedding registries that were created, nearly half are from customers who are new to Wayfair, providing the e-tailer with an opportunity to reach new customers at a time when they are starting a new life stage. The registry is shared with friends and families that provides additional customer reach for Wayfair. Wayfair said it ended the fourth quarter with 8.3 million active customers, which is a 54 percent increase from a year earlier.