Wayfair’s First Ever Retail Store Opens in Natick

Peek inside the one-of-a-kind space.

By Rachel Kashdan· 8/20/2019, 6:27 p.m.

Photo by John Horner Photography

Just in time for moving season, e-commerce giant Wayfair opens its first full-service retail store Wednesday at the Natick Mall. The 3,700-square-foot space evokes the colorful, comfortable homes featured in the retailer’s commercials, with the addition hundreds of pieces of furniture and décor for purchase out on shelves and on the floor. It’s a game-changer for local Wayfair shoppers, who will finally have a chance to touch and try out products before taking them home or placing an order for delivery.

“Consumers can visit the Wayfair store for inspiration, select from hundreds of items available off-the-shelf, and shop Wayfair’s full catalog of 14 million products across every style and price point, all with the helpful support of trusted design consultants at every step,” Ed Macri, chief product and marketing officer for Wayfair, said in a statement.

Those consultants will be on hand at the “Wayfair Home Bar,” where shoppers can ask for free design advice and also try out the “Wayfair Room Planner.” The tool allows customers to create 3D digital renderings of rooms stocked with Wayfair’s products and then see them in full-scale virtual reality.

The opening comes nearly a year after the retailer introduced its first ever pop-up shop at the Natick Mall last holiday season, and then in March announced plans to open its first true retail location. In addition to the new Natick store and a 20,000-square-foot outlet selling discounted furniture returns in Kentucky, Wayfair also currently has four pop-up shops in operation at locations across the country.

Wayfair’s customer base, which reached 11.8 million last year, shows no signs of slowing its growth, despite public outrage and employee walk-outs earlier this summer in protest of a company contract selling bedding to an immigrant detention center at the U.S.-Mexico border. Today, the Back Bay-area company employs more than 14,500 people (which included me between 2017 and mid- 2018) and generated $8 billion in net revenue for the year ending June 30.