Wayfair Q2 income, sales fall as home goods demand softens

Wayfair Inc. reported a disappointing quarter as its active customer base declined 24.1%. 

The direct-to-consumer online home furnishings giant reported a net loss of $378 million in the quarter ended June 30, compared with a profit of $131 million in the year-ago quarter. Wayfair’s operating loss reached $372 million compared to last year’s operating income of $146 million.

Revenue fell 14.9% to $3.3 billion. In the U.S., revenue was 9.7% to $2.8 billion. International revenue plunged 35.7% to $488 million.

Active customers (those who have placed an order within the past 12 months) declined 24% to 23.6 million. Orders delivered fell 28.2% to 10 million. Repeat customers placed 7.8 million orders in the second quarter of 2022, a decrease of 25.7% year over year.

In a bit of goods news, average order value increased 18.7% year over year to $330.

“During a difficult macroeconomic environment, we remain squarely focused on our customers and our suppliers, and on making sure Wayfair is their preferred platform for the home,” Niraj Shah, CEO, co-founder and co-chairman, Wayfair. “We are tightly controlling our many levers and steering Wayfair in a financially responsible manner through this period.”

On the company’s earnings call, Shah said the company has seen consumers trading down.

“It is not surprising that our mass customers are being more deliberate about where their discretionary dollars are going,” he told analysts on the call.

In addition to its namesake brand, Wayfair’s portfolio includes Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane, Perigold and Wayfair Professional.   

Wayfair announced in December that it planned to open physical stores across all its banners, starting in 2022 with two AllModern locations, and one Joss & Main store, at Burlington Mall, Burlington, Mass.

[Read More: Wayfair begins brick-and-mortar expansion]