Wayfair to launch livestreaming service on Way Day

Dive Brief:

Wayfair announced that Way Day, a sales holiday the company debuted last year, will begin on April 10 at 12 p.m. ET. The event will last 36 hours, extended from last year's 24-hour sale, according to a company press release.
The company said more than 100,000 products will be included in the sale, and thousands of "Flash Deals" will occur throughout the event. Customers who use a Wayfair credit card will receive triple rewards on purchases, which can be used for future purchases on the site.
The company also announced the launch of "Wayfair on Air," a video livestream of reviews of products included in the sales event. In addition, Wayfair is debuting a "Share and Save" feature, offering customers the opportunity to save an additional 40% on select products by sharing the deals on social media.

Dive Insight:

Wayfair may be taking a page from some e-commerce giants' playbooks with its self-created sales holiday.

Way Day, which debuted last April, came after Amazon introduced "Amazon Prime Day" in 2015 and Alibaba launched "Singles Day" in 2009. Other retailers have taken note of the success of these self-proclaimed sales holidays and have created days of their own. Zulily, as an example, last summer rolled out a week-long sales event called "Thrill Week."

Wayfair's Chief Merchandising Officer Steve Oblak said the timing of the event was planned intentionally.

"We know that home is top of mind for our customers in the spring as they look to refresh or renovate their homes and update their outdoor spaces in preparation for summer entertaining," Oblak said in a statement. "Partnering with our thousands of suppliers to source the best possible deals on popular products, we have created a premier holiday sales event specifically designed for our customers."

And the company's announcement to roll out a product review livestreaming service during this year's event points to a broader trend of retailers moving in this direction. While QVC has used this medium for years, Amazon in February announced the launch of its own live-streaming shopping service.

The shopping holiday is exclusively available to customers in North America, U.K. and Germany, and will feature Wayfair, AllModern, Joss & Main and Birch Lane brands, the company said.