Digital is not just about e-commerce. It’s about convenience — even if 99 percent of all purchases still happen in stores, people will still demand a great digital experience for being able to check inventory, pick up, etc.

Delivery they can afford to make expensive (high minimums) to make up for the fact that they don’t want to encourage it.

Some of us think that HomeGoods is the hub of the universe. Having access 24/7 is just about heaven.

An e-commerce play for HomeGoods is not only a long awaited gift to the treasure hunter but is also incredibly timely for TJX as the home category continues to grow.

With more and more customers starting their shopping journey online and with more deals to score than ever, it made sense for HomeGoods to finally launch online. Competing with Wayfair and Amazon on price and product mix, TJX needed to secure their digital presence and will also reach those customers that can’t get to their physical locations.

Additionally, off-price home product is the perfect category to launch online versus the lower price points and margins of the TJX apparel stores/portfolio.

E-commerce shouldn’t be expected to be the revenue-driver for the off-price furniture space, but it is definitely a necessary component to a modern retail strategy. Very few retailers should stay solely brick-and-mortar forever. This step is demonstrative of the fact that HomeGoods is evolving with consumers’ shopping behaviors, even if very little of the business comes from it.

It might be a late and begrudging entry into e-commerce, but this move recognizes the long term futility in not trying at all. And the threshold for free shipping makes abundant sense. No need to make this a money losing proposition from the very first step.

I definitely see a bigger opportunity for HomeGoods.com vs TJMaxx.com and Marshalls.com, especially as more companies offer more flexible work arrangements for their employees. A prime example last week was PwC, as they’re offering employees the choice of WFH or in-office. As more and more companies offer flex plans, home improvement will continue to remain strong and companies like HomeGoods who offer affordable, quality items online will thrive. As for the $89 delivery fee, it’s an initial attempt to help offset e-commerce expenses, but it might be a tad high in the shopper’s eye, especially given HomeGoods type of merchandise, i.e. pillows, throws, comforters, etc. If the average shopper were buying bigger, bulkier items such as furniture, then the fee would be viewed in much more of a convenience-based calculus.

With more people shopping online, HomeGoods was missing out by not having an e-commerce site. And while I doubt that this new online presence will eclipse its store sales, it is a sound addition to the business that allows customers to interact with the brand in the way they want. That said, it is very difficult to recreate the treasure hunt experience online, so it will be interesting to see how behaviors and purchase dynamics change compared to stores.

I feel like 2004 called and wants its press release back. This is long overdue. While concerns about e-commerce transactional profitability are legitimate, the off-price industry’s slow roll into digital ignores several important facts. Remarkable retailers focus on lifetime value, not just transactional profitability. Digitally-enabled commerce tends to benefit physical stores more than sales rung up and fulfilled via traditional e-commerce fulfillment. If you don’t show up well in early parts of the customer journey, consumers don’t make it through the funnel. Bottom line: They’ve been leaving a lot of money on the table. Also, this “treasure-hunt” idea is largely nonsense. Most of the product is made for these stores. It’s not hard to do the allocation.

Shop online makes tremendous sense, even if the purchase will ultimately be completed in store … or started in-store and completed later on online. I suspect the hard part here will be insuring accurate inventory positions, and ship from store capabilities to support the online channel.

E-commerce is a channel that makes sense for all retailers — from luxury to off-price — and it’s great to see HomeGoods going online as it is a base level expectation of shoppers today. It’s important though, that going online doesn’t merely mean taking existing analog processes and digitizing them. It means rethinking the interaction with the consumer along their discovery and purchase process — from home page to checkout — and optimizing it, as well as building a strong omni-channel approach that brings together the interaction between online and in-person. In that regard, TJX is in a great position to leverage their experience with their other brands to help HomeGoods advance more quickly.

Online research and pre-shopping discovery is an increasingly important part of true omnichannel retail. Unless you’re in a very exclusive or bespoke industry, customers expect an online product catalog regardless of where they actually buy. As long as they have implemented this in an efficient way with real-time inventory, it’s a win.

It’s tough to respond with anything but “it’s about time!” to news of ecommerce coming to HomeGoods! Yes, this is a welcome addition. Fact is, as the home goods category has continued to grow throughout the pandemic, not having an ecommerce presence when most consumers start their shopping journey in a digital channel (again, especially throughout the pandemic) meant that HomeGoods was missing out on many customers. While their most loyal customers will surely continue to “hunt” for products in-store, the best growth for customer acquisition at HomeGoods will come from digital channels. Ecommerce is a necessity to make that work.

And yes, it’s true that replicating the treasure hunt feel of the store with an online presence is difficult, I don’t believe that will hold back any customers shopping at HomedGoods.com — what will create an even more pleasing experience online is bringing store-level inventory counts to the ecommerce site to help shoppers find even more items they want conveniently.