Wayfair swings to loss in Q4 as sales fall

Wayfair Inc. reported disappointing fourth-quarter revenue and earnings and a decline in active customers.

The online home furnishings giant’s net loss totaled $202 million, or $1.92 per share, for the quarter compared to net income of $24 million, or $0.23 per share. Adjusted loss per share of $0.92 was wider than estimates of $0.70.

Revenue fell to $3.252 billion from $3.671 billion, missing estimates for $3.282 billion. When compared to 2019, however, net revenue increased 28.4%. For the full year, the company total net revenue fell 3.1%, to $13.7 billion.

Active customers fell 12.5% year-over-year to 27.3 million. Average order value for the quarter was $269, up from $223 the previous year. 

Some industry analysts speculated that Wayfair’s loss came as more consumers are shopping in-store for furniture. In December, the company announced that it planned to open brick-and-mortar stores across all its brands, which include Wayfair, AllModern, Joss&Main, Birch Land and Perigold.

"As we celebrate Wayfair’s 20th anniversary and the company’s rapid growth to a $14 billion household brand, we are proud of our accomplishments and even more excited about what’s ahead," said Niraj Shah, CEO, co-founder and co-chairman, Wayfair. “Today, we are continuing our high ROI initiatives across all dimensions - including assortment, discovery, technology and logistics - to set ourselves up for continued strong growth.”

[Read More: Wayfair beefs up tech leadership with former Target, Google execs]