Which channel points the way for Wayfair?

Pure play home furnishings retailer Wayfair is citing one digital channel in particular as serving as a major growth driver.



According to Wayfair, 35% of all orders in third quarter 2015 were placed on mobile devices. In addition, a majority of traffic to Wayfair now occurs on phones and tablets. Phone traffic in particular has been sharply rising throughout 2015 as customers switch from PCs and even tablets.



Wayfair also reports strong mobile app activity, with more than 2 million total downloads of its iOS and Android apps. The majority of its mobile app shoppers (67%) are repeat customers. In addition to the Wayfair.com mobile app for iOS and Android, Wayfair also offers mobile shopping apps for its AllModern and Joss & Main retail brands.



The increasing importance of mobile to Wayfair’s business reflects larger trends on the digital retail landscape. Several studies of online Cyber Week performance show that mobile now accounts for more than half of all e-commerce traffic.



Although a majority of consumers still turn to desktops for purchases, mobile purchases are growing rapidly. And smartphones are clearly a preferred mobile shopping device over tablets, although tablet shoppers tend to spend more. Furthermore, consumers are recognizing that apps generally offer a faster, more convenient browsing and shopping experience than mobile sites.



Wayfair is going the way of digital retail, and that way is marked by smartphones and apps.