How well did Way Day perform for Wayfair?
Analysis is in for Wayfair’s most recently held annual “Way Day” online sales extravaganza.
The online home furnishings retailer hosted the 2023 edition of its annual Way Day online sales blockbuster Wednesday, April 26 – Friday, April 28. This marked the first year Way Day spanned 72 hours after three years in a row of being a 48-hour event.
According to new analysis from data platform Earnest, Way Day 2023 spending during the week ended April 29, 2023 was 40% higher than the trailing four-week average. This was a substantially larger sales lift than the 24% spending increase compared to the trailing four-week average recorded for the “second Way Day” Wayfair held in advance of the holiday season Oct. 26-27, 2022.
However, despite the extra day, Earnest data reveals that the 2023 iteration of Way Day featured a lower sales lift compared to the trailing four-week average in 2022 (46%), though it did outperform the 2021 event (34%). In the pandemic year of 2020, Wayfair held a delayed Way Day in September and reported a spending increase (22%) similar to that of its fall 2022 sale.
The retailer launched Way Day in April 2018 as a 24-hour online shopping holiday, and extended it to 36 hours in April 2019.
Way Day 2023 featured what Wayfair said would be the lowest prices of the year with free shipping on everything. The retailer offered deals up to 80% across all product categories and brands.
Way Day also included a variety of doorbuster deals from major appliance brands, as well as 24-hour flash deals on top-selling furniture and décor items. Wayfair featured the event on its “Wayfair on Air” livestream offering, with select early deals available on its e-commerce site and app.
Wayfair annual loss hits $1.2 billion
For the second year in a row, Wayfair launched Way Day as it came off a difficult fourth quarter and fiscal year. The online home furnishings giant posted a net loss for the quarter ended Dec.31, compared with a loss of $202 million in the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, Wayfair reported a net loss of $1.3 billion compared with a loss of $131 million in 2021. In addition, net revenue, orders delivered and customer base all declined, while advertising expenses grew. In one good piece of financial news, average order value rose year-over-year.
Wayfair’s brands include Wayfair, Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane, Perigold, and Wayfair Professional. The company generated $12.2 billion in net revenue for full year 2022 and is headquartered in Boston, with operations throughout North America and Europe.