Wayfair’s first-ever brick-and-mortar store opens in Wilmette at Eden’s Plaza on I-94

WILMETTE, Ill. (WLS) — The popular online home retailer now has a stationary megastore on the North Coast.

Wayfair is now open for business in Wilmette, just off the Edens Expressway. This is the first such store.

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Shoppers were excited to get a first-hand look at the things they want in their home on Thursday.

Jay Bates and his daughter were playing a serious game of foosball in the middle of the store. You can’t do this online.

That’s one reason online retail giant Wayfair opened a first-of-its-kind retail space in Wilmette. The Boston-based company has been selling 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 no matter how they shop,” said Adam Katz of Wayfair.

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

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

There are approximately 80,000 items in the 150,000 square foot space. This is a drop in the ocean compared to the 30 million items in the online store, but many customers prefer to touch and see physical products.

“I like to shop in stores, not like the younger generation who orders everything online,” said customer Barbara Sherman. “I like to see what I’m buying.”

Margo and Vince Brown have been looking for a new couch for some time now.

“The reason we never bought a couch is because we never sat on it. We kept putting it off,” Margo said. “Now that we’re in it, it’s time.”

The retail store works with the website. Each product in the showroom has a QR code that leads customers to a website where there is a greater variety of that product.