With freight and supply chain costs skyrocketing during the pandemic, many retailers were forced to raise prices to offset those fees and maintain their minimums. But as shipping and disruptions have dissipated, some retailers are rolling back those increases, with At Home being the most recent.
The home goods retailer announced that it will enact permanent price drops on thousands of products across categories including furniture, rugs and decor.
“These price drops are possible due to the relentless efforts of our teams to find cost savings throughout our supply chain,” said Lee Bird, chairman and CEO of At Home. “Last year we had extraordinary cost increases in our supply chain, which led to us raising prices – which we were reluctant to do. While our prices were still the lowest in the market, we hated raising them. We committed to ourselves that we would drop prices as soon as we could. We can now, and we just have.”
Supply chain costs rose more than $300 million between 2020 and 2021 for At Home, and since then, the company has been able to reduce costs and save money on freight.
“As we see inflation continue to impact our customer from the gas pump to the grocery store, it is more important than ever we pass our savings to the customer. Passing on these supply chain cost savings will provide customers more purchasing power for the home items they desire,” says Chad Stauffer, president and chief merchandising and product officer. “Great value is important to our customer and critical to ensuring the entire economy stays healthy by enabling more customers to buy. We stay committed to décor for all, all for less. We will continue to evaluate our margins and the market, always looking for savings for our customer.”
At Home joins a spate of retailers that have recently dropped prices due to lower freight costs and inventory overages. Last fall, Ikea reduced prices by around 9 percent, and retailers such as Target and Walmart have enacted discounts on home goods to reduce excess inventory.