When it comes to furniture shopping, delivery speed is becoming an increasingly important consideration for consumers. In an age of same-day shipping and instant gratification, many shoppers want the option to get their new sofa, table, or bed delivered within just a few hours of clicking "buy." But is this realistic when it comes to furniture retail? And specifically, does Big Lots—one of the top discount furniture stores in the U.S.—offer same-day delivery on its furniture selection?
As an expert in the retail and consumer space with over a decade of experience analyzing the furniture industry, I‘ve taken a deep dive into Big Lots‘ delivery offerings and policies to provide a comprehensive answer. I‘ll share my insights on their furniture fulfillment model, how it compares to competitors, and what shoppers can expect in terms of wait times. Plus, I‘ll provide some insider tips on how to get your Big Lots furniture delivered as quickly as possible.
The State of Furniture Delivery in 2023
To put Big Lots‘ delivery capabilities into context, it‘s helpful to understand the broader furniture retail landscape. The industry has undergone major shifts in recent years, largely driven by changing consumer behaviors and expectations. Some key trends include:
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The rise of e-commerce: Online furniture sales have skyrocketed, growing from $42 billion in 2018 to a projected $75 billion by 2025 in the U.S. alone.^1 Consumers are increasingly comfortable buying furniture sight-unseen and having it delivered to their homes.
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Faster shipping times: As giants like Amazon and Wayfair have normalized 2-day, next-day, and even same-day shipping for many products, furniture retailers have felt the pressure to speed up delivery timelines. A recent survey found that 61% of consumers expect furniture to be delivered within 1 week of purchase.^2
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More delivery options: Retailers are offering a greater variety of delivery services to meet different customer needs and budgets. These range from basic front-door drop-off to white glove in-room setup. According to a Furniture Today report, 74% of furniture retailers now offer some kind of "deluxe" delivery service.^3
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Supply chain optimization: To enable faster and more efficient delivery, furniture brands are investing in their logistics networks. This includes strategies like distributed inventory, real-time tracking, and third-party delivery partnerships.
Against this backdrop, let‘s take a closer look at how Big Lots is approaching furniture delivery and whether they‘ve embraced the same-day trend.
Big Lots‘ Furniture Delivery Model
Big Lots is best known as a discount retailer selling a wide variety of home goods and household essentials. However, they also have a significant furniture business, generating over $1.5 billion in sales annually and representing roughly 25% of their total revenue.^4 Most Big Lots stores have a dedicated furniture section with a range of sofas, dining sets, beds, and more.
When it comes to delivering these furniture items to customers, Big Lots uses a hybrid model that combines elements of traditional in-store pickup and direct-to-consumer shipping. Here‘s an overview of how it works:
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In-store pickup: If a piece of furniture is in stock at a customer‘s local Big Lots store, they have the option to purchase it online and pick it up the same day for no additional fee. The customer receives an email when their order is ready, typically within a few hours of purchase.
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Standard delivery: For furniture items that are out of stock locally or too large to easily transport, Big Lots offers standard home delivery. This uses a combination of Big Lots‘ own trucks and third-party carriers to ship the items from a distribution center to the customer‘s home. Standard delivery fees range from $49 to $149 depending on the item and location.
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Expedited delivery: In some cases, Big Lots offers the option to upgrade to expedited shipping for an additional fee (usually $100-$200). This prioritizes the order and can reduce the delivery window to as little as 2-3 business days, although same-day service is not available. Expedited delivery is offered based on inventory availability and the customer‘s proximity to a distribution point.
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Deluxe delivery: For an extra charge, Big Lots provides more premium delivery options including room of choice drop-off, unboxing, and haul-away of the packaging materials. This white glove service is similar to what many high-end furniture retailers offer.
So in summary, while Big Lots does provide a range of delivery options aimed at getting furniture to the customer‘s home as quickly and conveniently as possible, they stop short of offering same-day delivery in most cases. The fastest scenario would be a customer picking up an in-stock item from their local store on the same day they purchase it online.
Big Lots Furniture Delivery vs. Competitors
To put Big Lots‘ delivery model into perspective, let‘s see how it compares to some of their top competitors in the furniture retail space:
| Retailer | Same-Day Delivery? | Standard Delivery Time | Expedited Options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Lots | No | 7-14 business days | 2-3 business days |
| Ashley Furniture | No | 1-3 weeks | 3-5 business days |
| Bob‘s Discount Furniture | No | 5-14 business days | 1-2 business days (limited) |
| Wayfair | No | 1-3 weeks | Next-day (limited) |
| Amazon | Yes (limited) | 2-5 business days | Next-day/same-day (limited) |
| Ikea | No | 2-14 business days | 1-2 business days (some items) |
As you can see, Big Lots is generally in line with other major furniture retailers in terms of delivery speed. Most of these companies do not currently offer same-day furniture delivery, likely due to the logistical challenges involved. Shipping large, heavy, and fragile items on such short notice is complex and costly compared to smaller consumer goods.
The notable exception is Amazon, which has started offering same-day or next-day delivery on a limited selection of furniture items. However, this service is only available in a handful of markets, requires a high minimum purchase amount, and comes with a hefty fee (in some cases exceeding the cost of the item itself). So it‘s not a mainstream option for most shoppers.
Among the rest of the pack, Big Lots is relatively competitive in terms of standard delivery windows. Their 7-14 business day timeframe is on par with Wayfair, Ashley Furniture, and others. And their 2-3 day expedited option, while not quite as fast as Amazon or Bob‘s Discount Furniture, is a solid offering for customers who need their order a bit quicker.
Deconstructing Big Lots‘ Supply Chain
To understand Big Lots‘ furniture delivery capabilities in more depth, it‘s important to look at their underlying supply chain and distribution network. Over the years, Big Lots has made a number of strategic investments to improve the speed and efficiency of their logistics:
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Regional distribution centers: Big Lots operates 5 regional DCs spread across the country in key markets like Columbus, OH, Durant, OK, and Rancho Cucamonga, CA.^5 These facilities are strategically located to enable fast ground shipping to a large portion of the U.S. population. By forward-stocking furniture inventory in these DCs, Big Lots can reduce delivery times compared to shipping everything from a single central warehouse.
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Hub-and-spoke architecture: Big Lots uses a "hub-and-spoke" network design, with the regional DCs serving as hubs and individual retail stores serving as spokes. This allows them to quickly move products to stores based on local demand signals, ensuring that popular furniture items are available for same-day pickup.
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Pool point program: In 2019, Big Lots began testing a "pool point" program to support same-day and next-day delivery of furniture and other bulky items.^6 Pool points are small-format warehouses in certain markets that keep limited inventory on hand to fulfill nearby online orders. This allows Big Lots to decentralize their distribution footprint even further and position products closer to customers. However, the program is still in the pilot stage and not yet widely available.
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Dedicated furniture carriers: For their largest furniture items, Big Lots often works with specialized furniture carriers to handle last-mile delivery. These companies are experts in the ins-and-outs of furniture transportation and setup, which translates to higher quality service. However, this comes with certain tradeoffs such as reduced flexibility and higher costs.
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Integrated technology: Big Lots has invested in upgrading its order management, inventory tracking, and delivery scheduling systems. This allows them to optimize routes, provide customers with more accurate ETAs, and recover quickly when issues arise. For example, if a local delivery is delayed due to severe weather, Big Lots can automatically re-route the order to come from a different DC.
But despite these efforts to modernize their supply chain, the fact remains that furniture is an inherently difficult category to deliver quickly due to its size and fragility. For this reason, Big Lots—like most furniture retailers—has focused more on offering customers multiple ways to get their items (in-store vs. delivered) and a range of price points for shipping versus pursuing a same-day service level across the board.
Tips for Getting Big Lots Furniture Fast
For shoppers who need furniture on a tight timeline, here are some insider tips and tricks to get your Big Lots pieces delivered as quickly as possible:
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Check local inventory online: Before placing an order, use Big Lots‘ website to see if the item you want is in stock at a store near you. Look for the "Pick Up In Store" option on the product page or search using the local availability filter. If it‘s available locally, you can often get it the same day.
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Consider the floor model: For popular furniture pieces, ask a store associate if they have any floor models available for immediate purchase. These are the exact items on display in the store, so you can see them firsthand and take them home right away. Big Lots often sells floor models at a discount, so you may get a deal in the process.
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Avoid custom orders: If you‘re in a hurry, steer clear of any furniture items that are made-to-order or require customization (like choosing a specific fabric or finish). These will almost always take longer since they have to be produced from scratch and can‘t be shipped from stock.
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Be flexible on dates: Big Lots‘ standard shipping windows are estimates, and your furniture could arrive a few days before or after the original timeframe. If possible, provide a range of delivery dates that work for you rather than a single specific day. This gives Big Lots and their carrier partners more flexibility to optimize routes and stay on schedule.
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Order early: This may seem like a no-brainer, but it‘s worth emphasizing. The sooner you place your Big Lots furniture order, the sooner it will arrive. If you have a hard deadline like a move-in date or a holiday, build in an extra buffer of at least a week to account for any unexpected delays.
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Consider alternatives: If you‘re in a last-minute bind, it may be worth looking beyond Big Lots. While their prices are hard to beat, you might be able to find faster shipping from a competitor. For example, Amazon offers same-day delivery on select mattresses and office chairs in certain markets. Just be prepared to pay a premium for the convenience.
The Future of Furniture Delivery
As consumer expectations continue to rise and the line between online and offline shopping blurs, the pressure is on for furniture retailers to offer faster and more flexible delivery options. In the coming years, I expect we‘ll see more brands experimenting with same-day and on-demand delivery models. This could involve:
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Micro-fulfillment centers: More retailers will start using small-scale warehouses in urban areas to store popular items and support rapid local delivery. These "dark stores" blur the line between retail shops and distribution hubs.
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Gig economy partnerships: Much like restaurants have embraced third-party services like DoorDash and Uber Eats, furniture stores may start outsourcing local delivery to on-demand platforms. This allows them to tap into a flexible workforce and scale up or down quickly.
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Smart inventory management: As AI and machine learning tools become more sophisticated, retailers will get better at predicting which furniture items will be in high demand in a given market. This will allow them to proactively position inventory to enable same-day and next-day shipping.
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Augmented reality: Furniture retailers are already starting to use AR technology to help shoppers visualize pieces in their homes. The next frontier is using this data to optimize delivery routes and automate scheduling. For example, a customer could use their phone to scan their living room and an AI-powered system could identify the best way to deliver and install a new sectional based on the room‘s layout.^7
It remains to be seen whether Big Lots will embrace these emerging technologies and delivery models. The company has historically been cautious about investing too much in bleeding-edge innovations and instead focused on executing its core business model. However, as customer expectations continue to evolve, Big Lots may need to start piloting more ambitious solutions or risk falling behind the competition.
The Bottom Line
So in conclusion, does Big Lots offer same-day delivery on furniture? The short answer is no, at least not as a standard practice. The majority of Big Lots furniture purchases will require at least a 2-day window, and in most cases it‘s closer to 7-14 business days. However, this is fairly typical for the furniture industry as a whole given the size, weight, and fragility of the items involved.
Where Big Lots stands out is in offering multiple ways for customers to get their hands on furniture quickly. Their in-store pickup option allows shoppers to get items the same day as long as they‘re available locally. And their expedited shipping provides a relatively affordable way to cut the delivery window down to 2-3 days for those who need it faster.
Looking forward, it‘s likely that Big Lots (and other furniture retailers) will face increasing pressure to speed up delivery timelines as consumer expectations continue to be shaped by e-commerce giants like Amazon. Whether this takes the form of more same-day delivery pilots, on-demand fulfillment partnerships, or something else entirely remains to be seen. The key for Big Lots will be to balance the demand for speed and convenience with their core focus on delivering value and keeping prices low.
In the meantime, savvy shoppers can use the tips and tricks outlined above to ensure they‘re getting their Big Lots furniture as quickly as possible based on their specific needs and constraints. And if all else fails, there‘s always the option to rent a truck and pick it up in person!
