Wayfair’s brand momentum swells with Gen Z after a brand refresh

Using data from QuestBrand by The Harris Poll, online home store Wayfair ranked 18th in Ad-Age-Harris Poll’s recent Gen Z brand tracker. Wayfair finished just behind Tillamook, Quest Diagnostics, and Timberland. This quarterly tracker ranks the top 20 brands by growth in brand equity among Gen Z adults. Members of Gen Z under the age of 18 are excluded from the survey.

Wayfair’s overall brand equity increased +6.4 points among Gen Z adults from Q4 2023 (31.1) to Q1 2024 (37.5). Brand equity measures the value consumers see in a brand at a particular moment of time. It is an average of four components: brand familiarity, perceived quality, purchase consideration, and perceived momentum.

In addition to Wayfair’s impressive brand equity gains, the graph below shows the brand’s rise in positive momentum among Gen Z. In April, Wayfair’s positive brand momentum among Gen Zers surpassed their positive momentum among the general population of US adults. Momentum captures how consumers think a brand is doing against its competitors – is it gaining or losing market share?

Want more information on home care trends? Check out our Home Care & Products: An Industry Snapshot report for insights and brand data. 

Wayfair Positive Momentum – Gen Z and US Adults – 12 Week Trending Average

QuestBrand. Base: General population of US adults (green), n=5,881. Base: Gen Z adults (purple), n=915. 10/1/23-4/29/24.

What has Wayfair been doing to catch Gen Z’s attention? It turns out, a lot.

Around the Oscars in March, Wayfair launched a star-studded advertising campaign, “Welcome to the Wayborhood.” The campaign introduced consumers to an updated logo, jingle, and several new celebrity partners. Wayfair’s celebrity partners include Kelly Clarkson, Lisa Ann Walter, Lisa Vanderpump, Tituss Burgess, Shawn Johnson, Stephanie Beatriz, and Thoren Bradley.

Beyond television commercials, Wayfair showcased their brand refresh through several social activations, including a “Pinterest Creator Tour” to highlight all the unique ways we decorate and live in our homes. This omnichannel campaign leads up to the opening of Wayfair’s first in-person store, that will open in Illinois in late May. All this to say, keep an eye on Wayfair – they are clearly picking up steam with this young cohort.