Wayfair has found a way to make money from shoppers who use the site for product research. The home decor retailer has cut deals with brick-and-mortar stores. If you find a dining room table you like while visiting Wayfair, it will tell you which stores nearby carry the product. Each time an online shopper uses the site’s Get It Near Me feature, Wayfair gets a cost-per-click of 75 cents.
The behavior Wayfair is cashing in on is referred to in industry jargon as “webrooming,” according to an article in Forbes. It’s the idea that when buying expensive items, shoppers will check out the options online, but ultimately buy at a brick-and-mortar store. The trend is the opposite of showrooming, where shoppers use brick-and-mortar stores to test-drive products but ultimately buy them for less money online.
“We’re very much aware of the channel conflict between suppliers and brands,” Mike O’Hanlon, vice-president of business development at Wayfair, told Forbes. “If we can make them part of an ecosystem where we’re driving traffic to local stores, that’s a good thing for our relationships with suppliers.”
You can read more about webrooming at forbes.com.
