Dive Brief:
- Wayfair and Affirm have expanded their partnership to offer buy now, pay later payment options to shoppers in the U.K. and Canada, the payment company announced earlier this month.
- Using Affirm’s BNPL service at checkout, shoppers will receive a real-time approval decision.
- Wayfair brought Affirm’s service to online and in-store checkouts across the U.S. last October.
Dive Insight:
Wayfair and Affirm extended their partnership in October in time for the retailer’s Way Day sales event and prior to the peak holiday shopping season. The companies announced that eligible shoppers could select Affirm during in-store or online checkouts across the Wayfair family of brands, which includes its namesake, Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane and Perigold.
In its U.K. and Canada expansion announcement, Wayne Pommen, chief revenue officer at Affirm, called its years-long partnership with Wayfair “successful.”
“Since first partnering with Affirm nearly a decade ago, we've seen how much our customers value having flexible, transparent payment options,” Curtis Crawford, head of fintech and loyalty at Wayfair, said in a press release. “Expanding Affirm to the U.K. and Canada means more shoppers can invest in their homes in a way that works for them, with no hidden fees or surprises.”
Beyond expanding its payment options for shoppers, Wayfair is also experimenting with its brick-and-mortar approach. Last fall, the retailer piloted a smaller-format store for its namesake banner in Columbus, Ohio. Meanwhile, the retailer announced large-format stores in Yonkers, New York; Denver; and Atlanta.
Wayfair last summer posted its first quarterly profit in four years. Though tariffs sparked some concerns, CEO Niraj Shah at the time said its customers’ shopping habits remained consistent, a trend Shah attributed to the company’s marketplace model.
In the company’s latest earnings, revenues jumped 8.1% year over year to $3.1 billion. In the U.S., Q3 revenue grew 8.6% to $2.7 billion.
While Wayfair reports sales growth, the broader furniture market hasn’t fared well recently. In December, home goods sales dropped 3.7% year over year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
