Wayfair brick-and-mortar store opens for business in Wilmette in Eden’s Plaza

WILMETTE, Ill. (WLS) — A popular online store for the home now has a brick-and-mortar mega-shop in the north shore.

Wayfair is now open for business in Wilmette, just off the Edens expressway. It’s a first-of-its-kind store.

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Shoppers were excited Thursday to get up close and personal with things they want for their homes.

Jay Bates and his daughter had a serious foosball game going on in the middle of the store. You can’t do that online.

That’s one of the reasons online retail giant Wayfair has opened the first-of-its kind retail space in Wilmette. The Boston-based company has sold products online for more than 20 years, but this is its first venture into the brick-and-mortar world.

“We want to invest and build capabilities and serve customers however they shop,” said Adam Katz with Wayfair.

Customers began lining up hours before Thursday’s grand opening. The first 100 customers got $50 gift cards.

With a DJ and other surprises, Wayfair is calling it a five-day celebration through Memorial Day.

The 150,000 square foot space carries some 80,000 items. That is a drop in the bucket compared to the 30 million items in the online store, but many customers prefer to touch and see the physical products.

“I like shopping in stores, not like the younger generation where I just order things online,” customer Barbara Sherman said. “I like to see what I’m buying.”

Margo and Vince Brown have been in the market for a new couch for a while.

“The reason we never bought a couch is because we never sat in one. We’ve been putting it off,” Margo said. “Now that we’re sitting in it, now’s the time.”

The retail store works hand in hand with the website. Each product on the showroom floor comes with a QR code which leads customers to the website, which has a larger variety of that product.