Over the past several years, Amazon has purchased dozens of companies to become the second richest company on earth and a giant monopoly of e-commerce marketplaces.
It can be hard to keep track of which companies Amazon does and doesn’t own, and you might be wondering: Does Amazon own Wayfair?
Does Amazon Own Wayfair?
Amazon does not own Wayfair, nor are the two companies affiliated in any way. In fact, Wayfair is one of Amazon’s top competitors when it comes to furniture sales. No company owns Wayfair; however, Wayfair does own several smaller companies, including Joss and Main, All Modern, Birch Lane, and Perigold.
In this article, we are going to discuss exactly how Amazon and Wayfair are related, who actually owns Wayfair, and even which company is better. So keep reading; everything you need to know is right here!
Are Wayfair and Amazon Related?
In regards to ownership, Amazon and Wayfair are completely unrelated, i.e., they are not owned by the same company. They are also quite different because Wayfair only sells furniture and home decor, and Amazon sells almost everything.
But there are a couple of ways in which Amazon and Wayfair are quite similar: they both sell furniture and home decor online and own several private label brands and smaller companies.
Who Is Wayfair Owned By?
Wayfair is not owned by another company, and although it is a public company, the majority of the stocks are owned by its two co-founders, Steve Conine and Niraj Shah.
It’s important to note that the company known as Wayfair is not simply Wayfair.com; it also owns four separate businesses called Joss & Main, AllModern, Perigold, and Birch Lane, as well as its hundreds of private label brands.
Wayfair, as a conglomerate, is worth over $7.31 billion, and that number is steadily increasing. With Wayfair’s net worth in the billions, the business model and profits are much more similar to Amazon’s than most people understand.
Which Is Better, Amazon or Wayfair?
You may or may not have been surprised to learn about how similar Amazon and Wayfair actually are, but either way, you will certainly want to know which company is better!
There are several factors to consider when comparing the two companies, so before we definitively decide which is better, Amazon or Wayfair, let’s go through the pros and cons of each company.
Pros and Cons of Amazon
Amazon is undoubtedly one of the most popular online retailers on the planet, and millions of users make Amazon purchases consistently throughout the year.
Here are some of the many reasons why Amazon is a popular choice:
- It has everything! With over 12 million products, there is an incredible inventory on Amazon.com, and even within their furniture section, Amazon has everything you could ever need.
- Prime memberships. As an Amazon Prime member, you can get most of your purchases delivered within 48 hours for no extra cost.
- Return Policy. Amazon has focused its brand on consumer satisfaction, and it will accept returns of almost any product sent back within 30 days of the original purchase and immediately initiate a full refund.
- Third-party Sellers. Because there are over 1 million third-party sellers on Amazon, you can not only find whatever it is you’re looking for, but you can also get it at a competitive price point.
Now before you go straight to Amazon to make your next purchase, it’s important to also understand the disadvantages of the site:
- Higher price tags. Although Amazon is generally assumed to have the lowest prices on the market, studies have shown that Wayfair’s items are usually cheaper than Amazon’s!
- Quality. While you can certainly find some high-end pieces on Amazon, because of the often convenient third-party sellers, Amazon can not always confirm the quality of a product not sold directly from their warehouse.
Pros and Cons of Wayfair
Although Amazon may be more widely known, Wayfair is certainly not far behind. And there are quite a few reasons why people love shopping at Wayfair.
- Better quality. On Wayfair.com or at one of their several subsidiaries, you can be sure whatever you order will be a high-quality item.
- Wayfair Rewards. To compete with Amazon’s Prime memberships, Wayfair has a rewards program that offers next-day shipping, 25% off select items, and even discounts on in-home setups and services.
- Return policy. Like Amazon, Wayfair allows you to return any item for a full refund if it is not what you wanted, and if there are any problems with the item, they will even pay for shipping.
- More affordable prices. Overall, most items on Wayfair are cheaper than they are on Amazon. Because Wayfair purchases its products directly from the manufacturer in bulk, they afford to keep its prices extremely low.
However, there are a few downsides to Wayfair.
- Longer shipping times. If you do not have Wayfair Rewards, your items may take three to five days to deliver.
- Return policy. If there is nothing wrong with your item, but you simply do not like it, you have to pay for the return shipping, which can be fairly expensive for large furniture items. (At Amazon, they will almost always pay the return shipping.)
- Most items require assembly. Many consumers have reported that they were extremely frustrated with their Wayfair products as they were challenging to put together themselves.
Is Wayfair Competing With Amazon?
Wayfair is absolutely competing with Amazon, in fact, they are two of the industry’s leading companies, and many consumers scroll through both sites before deciding on the furniture they want to purchase.
Of course, there are other companies they both compete with, including Walmart, Target, and Ikea, but Wayfair and Amazon are most commonly considered the top two options for furniture and home decor.
Why Has Amazon Not Bought Wayfair?
In order to become the world’s leading e-commerce site, Amazon has spent billions of dollars purchasing other companies, so why has Amazon not bought Wayfair?
There doesn’t seem to be any clear-cut reason why Amazon has not yet purchased Wayfair. It may be that the company is not interested in selling, that they set the price too high, or maybe that Amazon simply doesn’t want it!
However, you really can’t rule out the possibility that Amazon will own Wayfair at some point in the future; it seems that Amazon usually gets what it wants.
Conclusion
Amazon does not own Wayfair in [year]. Wayfair is its own corporation, owned largely by its two co-founders, and the company itself owns several smaller companies and private labels. While many wonder if Amazon will eventually buy out its competitor, today, they are still two separate companies.
