Wayfair

There has been no shortage of examples of online players that have opted to open stores and global online furniture and home retailer Wayfair?recently became the latest to throw open the doors on its?first-ever large-format store?in?Wilmette, Illinois.

Designed by international agency Gensler, the move marks what the company described as a "significant milestone" for the business, with the two-level Wayfair store spanning nearly 15,000 sq m and designed as a “one-stop shopping destination” for everything connected with the home – including furniture, home decor, housewares, appliances and home improvement products across 19 departments.

The new store also includes free onsite design and home improvement?services, the debut of all-day café restaurant The Porch, plus the availability of some products to take home from the store or free shipping of most products within a day or two, the company said.

Meanwhile, Gensler said that the design concept aims to “revolutionise the home shopping experience”, transforming how Wayfair customers shop for homeware. The aesthetic reflects Wayfair’s “playful and inviting” brand personality, characterised by a warm and bright palette plus the brand’s signature purple. The store design also enables Wayfair to curate immersive and branded experiences for its customers.

“Our vision for this new store was that it would bring the Wayfair brand to life for our customers in an entirely new way, and Gensler has helped us make that vision a reality,” Adam Katz, head of physical retail at Wayfair, said. “The store’s design enables us to translate the online Wayfair shopping experience that our customers know and love into a truly innovative physical retail experience.”

Central to the design was the creation of ‘The Wayborhood’ approach to categorising the 19 departments in the store into themed neighbourhoods showcasing a vast selection of products and providing a simple route for customers to explore the store and engage with products across various categories.

Located within Edens Plaza, a WS Development Property, at 3232 Lake Avenue,?the Wilmette store is not the company’s first experiment with bricks-and-mortar shopping as it had previously opened a number of Wayfair pop-ups, along with stores for its Joss & Martin and?AllModern?sub-brands.

Aaron Birney, lifestyle sector leader, and principal at Gensler, said of the design: “We partnered with the team to reimagine this vacant department store, transforming it into a destination where customers could feel at home. Utilising a vibrant, colourful palette, every space has been thoughtfully created with a personal touch to enhance the community in which it serves.

“In order to create a transformative home shopping experience, we integrated bespoke, innovative touch points to ease decision-making, and social spaces for customers to meet, connect, and immerse themselves in this new shopping experience.”

Wayfair: Photo credit Ryan Gobuty, Courtesy Gensler