Dive Brief:
- Wayfair unveiled a video commerce experience that aims to showcase products, entertain and spark inspiration, dubbed Wayfair On Air.
- Wayfair On Air, now available on iOS, includes studio show formats and glimpses into creators' own homes, according to the announcement.
- The retailer will highlight affordable products for consumers' homes through a daily format called The Wayfair Rundown, and will feature content tailored for consumers seeking multi-functional living through another studio show called Two-Spaced.
Dive Insight:
The home retailer is making moves to make its products more discoverable.
Taking a page from livestream shopping veterans like QVC and HSN, retailers and social media platforms have increasingly relied on livestream shopping and other shoppable content to connect with consumers from afar during the coronavirus pandemic.
Wayfair's content will feature hosts such as celebrity chef Danny Boome, family blogger Amiyrah Martin and shopping aficionado Albany Irvin. Shoppers can also watch for holiday deals and advice, per the announcement.
As Wayfair launches its video commerce initiative, other companies, including Saks, Pinterest, TikTok and EastBay, have turned to shoppable videos to drive engagement.
"With Wayfair On Air, we're bringing amazing video content to our seamless mobile shopping experience, making product discovery entertaining and fun. We look forward to building upon this feature as we further expand our cast of creators and deliver even richer content experiences that engage and inspire our customers," Steve Oblak, chief commercial officer at Wayfair, said in a statement.
Wayfair has seen some success during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are signs that its coronavirus bump is beginning to fade. In May, the company saw a 49.2% spike in net revenue from last year. But in August, the company reported a 10.4% year over year decline in net revenues during Q2.
