Wayfair swung to sales growth in the fourth quarter after three consecutive periods of decline thanks to positive performance in the US market.
The company’s net revenue for the quarter ended December 31 rose by a modest 0.2 per cent to $3.1 billion, with US sales up 1.1 per cent and international sales down 5.7 per cent.
According to GlobalData MD Neil Saunders, the varying performance partly reflects the state of the consumer sentiment, with US shoppers being more confident and willing to spend on furnishings over the holidays than their European counterparts.
It also shows that Wayfair has carved out a clear position in the US market as a go-to online destination for furnishings, something the company could not do in markets like Germany and the UK, Saunders elaborated.
For the full year, net revenue fell 1.3 per cent, including a 1 per cent decline in US sales and 2.8 per cent decrease in international sales.
On the bottom line, the retailer continued to make progress in reducing its losses in the fourth quarter, but remains deeply in the red with a total net loss of $492 million year to date.
“It is entirely satisfactory that losses have improved from last year’s $783 million figure, but it really is a small crumb of comfort in the general scheme of things as Wayfair is still nowhere near generating a stable and sustainable profit from its trading activities,” the analyst stated.
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