Wayfair CTO Fiona Tan on AI-led retail, supply chains, and India bets

As global retailers rethink supply chains and customer experience in the AI era, Wayfair, a US-based online retailer specialising in home goods and furniture, is leaning deeper into technology—from smarter product discovery to tightly integrated supplier logistics. In an interview with TechCircle, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Wayfair explains how the company is tackling high-return categories like furniture, navigating the rise of agentic commerce, and why India remains a key tech hub rather than a consumer market - for now. Edited excerpts.

Furniture retail is known for high return rates and complex supply chains. How are you using AI to reduce returns and improve last-mile accuracy?

It’s a high-consideration category, so a lot of the work happens upfront—understanding customer intent and matching it to the right product.
We’re investing heavily in discovery. Customers can use natural language or even images to express what they want. It’s a very visual category—sometimes it’s easier to show a picture than describe it. We use that to better understand intent and match it with our catalogue.
On the supply side, we also factor in product attributes, return rates, and supplier performance. And then there’s the supply chain orchestration. Some products are fulfilled by us, some by suppliers—but it’s seamless for the customer.
We integrate with suppliers through APIs, so we know inventory, shipping timelines, and location. That allows us to show customers products that are closer to them—reducing delivery time, cost, and potential damage. Fewer damages also mean fewer returns.

With GenAI reshaping discovery, how do you ensure automation doesn’t dilute brand trust?

That’s something the entire industry is figuring out. Early on, there was a lot of talk about fully autonomous or agentic commerce—but customers aren’t really ready for that, except for very low-consideration purchases.
What we’re seeing is that AI platforms are becoming a discovery layer. Customers use them for research, but they still want to be involved in decision-making. For retailers, integration is key. We’ve ensured that our catalogue feeds directly into platforms like OpenAI and Google so the information is accurate—inventory, pricing, availability. Otherwise, these platforms rely on scraping, which can be inaccurate. At the same time, the retailer remains the merchant of record—we still own fulfillment, customer service, and the relationship. That’s where trust comes from.

Do you see a continued role for humans in the loop as AI agents evolve?

Yes, definitely. Customers are using AI for discovery and research, but they’re not handing over full control—especially for high-consideration purchases like furniture. The opportunity is to create a better discovery experience—leveraging multimodal capabilities like images and natural language—both on AI platforms and on our own platform.

How are you measuring ROI on AI? Where have you seen the strongest impact?

Customer service is a clear example. AI-driven virtual agents have improved outcomes significantly—faster resolution, higher satisfaction, and lower cost. In other areas like discovery and inspiration, the impact is more long-term. You see higher engagement, but it may not translate immediately into conversions. We’re also seeing benefits in software development—AI is enabling us to build and ship features much faster.

With increasing scrutiny on AI’s energy consumption, how are you addressing sustainability?

From our perspective, the energy consumption from AI is still relatively small compared to our overall operations. That said, we’re very focused on efficiency—choosing the right model for the task. In many cases, smaller, faster, and cheaper models are sufficient. It’s both a cost and sustainability decision.

How do you differentiate in a market dominated by players like Amazon?

Our focus is the home category—that’s all we do. It’s also one of the most complex categories to sell online. We’ve built specialised logistics for large, fragile items like furniture. Our customer experience is tailored to this category—highly visual and personalised.
We also work very closely with suppliers—helping them improve packaging, reduce damage, and optimise operations. That collaboration is a key differentiator.

Are there any India-specific expansion or investment plans on the horizon?

Our technology centre here is doing very well and owns strategic global initiatives. As a market, India is still something we’re evaluating. We don’t have definite plans right now. Our current focus is on expanding physical retail in the US, and we’ll look at international markets over time.
Going forward, I’d say, it’s an interesting time for retail. Customers are increasingly using AI platforms for discovery, so retailers need to show up there effectively. At the same time, we have to continue investing in our own platforms. Ultimately, the retailer still owns the customer relationship—fulfilment, service, and trust. AI becomes an additional channel, not a replacement.