Wayfair stock fell Thursday after it posted a larger fourth-quarter loss. The company also said that it had lost millions of customers in 2022. This decline was due to the pandemic, which sparked a buying frenzy in furniture and other household items.
Wayfair shares plunged as high as 31% to $34.33 before closing at $38.33.
After the company’s fourth quarter financial results, investors slashed their prices to a seven-week low.
Wayfair reported that 2022 saw a 19% drop in active customers to 22.1million year-over-year. Wayfair, which owns brands like Joss & Main and AllModern, reported that active customers in 2022 fell by 19% to 22.1 million .
The 2022 number of customers was close to the 21.1million Wayfair had at March 2020 when the COVID pandemic was growing worldwide.
In 2020, customer numbers jumped 51% to 31 million in the fourth quarter that ended in December. Many retailers, including Wayfair, saw sales of office and living furniture, decorations, as well as other home improvement products, rise after COVID lockdowns made it impossible for millions to study and work at home.
Wayfair reported that sales for its latest quarter were down 4.6% to $3.1 million. The adjusted loss of $1.71 per share was more than $0.92 in the previous year. Analysts expected a lower loss of $1.61 per share.