Word on the street is (a.k.a., according to a report in The Wall Street Journal), Amazon is making a "major push" into the furniture, appliances, and home-goods market. While retailers like Wayfair and Overstock dominate the home scene online, we definitely already head to Amazon for our apartment needs on a regular basis.
The WSJ reports that Amazon is trying to take an even bigger bite out of the $150-billion furniture market by expanding its furniture and home-goods inventory and opening new warehouses. It has reportedly already built four warehouses for storing these items. Its current market share in home furnishings is 17%, according to Morgan Stanley, as reported by Fortune.
"Furniture is one of the fastest-growing retail categories here at Amazon," Veenu Taneja, general manager of furniture at Amazon, told The WSJ. Taneja said that the e-commerce retailer is adding more inventory — like sofas — to round out its offerings, as well as planning to let customers design their own furniture. In some cities, it also aims to guarantee one- to two-day shipping on home items. The report says Amazon is likely to rely on third-party companies for many of the complex logistics furniture delivery entails.
Some of the new inventory will include Ashley Furniture sofas and Jonathan Adler home decor. We're definitely down with being able to buy some minimalist, white Jonathan Adler vases with one click — so this news gets a big old thumbs up from us.