Physical Retail In-Store Leadership Intern - Summer 2027 (Chicago, IL)

Physical Retail In-Store Leadership Intern - Summer 2027 (Chicago, IL)

Program Dates: June 1st - August 6th, 2027

The base pay for this position is $25 per hour.

Location: Wayfair - Chicago, IL (Requires flexibility to travel locally/work in various locations within the same immediate geography as needed)

Schedule: Flexibility to work a retail schedule, including evenings, weekends, and peak periods as dictated by business needs.

At this time, Wayfair will not sponsor applicants for employment authorization for this position for the following work visas: STEM OPT EAD, H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, O-1, J-1, or TN.

Who We Are:

Our organization was selected as a top 100 Internship program for 2026 by Yello & WayUp! This list showcases the employers who went above and beyond for their interns in the past year. We take pride in delivering a best-in-class experience!

Our 10-week summer internship program is designed to give you a feel for what it would be like to work full-time across our fleet of retail brands. You'll be assigned real projects and contribute directly to your store's operational goals and objectives.

Our retail organization is reinventing the store experience, and we are looking for the next generation of executive leaders to run our specialty, luxury, outlet, and flagship branded stores. This is an immersive, high-stakes experience designed for high-potential individuals who want to master every facet of a physical retail businessfrom sales floor operations to financial analysis.

What You'll Do:

• Master Retail Operations & CX: Rotate through frontline sales, back-of-house logistics, visual merchandising, and clienteling workflows across our fleet of brands.
• Shadow Store Leadership: Partner directly with Assistant Store Managers (ASMs) and Store Managers to analyze daily/weekly sales reports, observe real-time labor deployment, and learn operational decision-making.
• Execute a High-Impact Capstone Project: Identify a live store challenge (e.g., category conversion, damaged inventory, process bottlenecks), conduct data-driven analysis, implement solutions, and track measurable outcomes.
• Step into Acting Leadership: Lead morning huddles, monitor and drive key shift KPIs (e.g., credit applications, CRM capture), handle basic customer escalations, and manage specific floor zones.
• Deliver Executive Presentations: Prepare and pitch your Capstone Project results and strategic recommendations directly to General Managers and Regional Leadership.

What You'll Need:

Basic Qualifications:

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree, with the expectation that the degree will be obtained between December 2027 and June 2028.
• Minimum GPA of 3.0.
• Must be returning to the course of study following completion of the internship.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 1+ years of experience in retail, hospitality, customer service, or leadership roles.
• Strong comfort level and appetite to use AI tools and modern retail software in daily workflows.
• Proactive, self-motivated "owner" mindset with strong active listening, verbal communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to stand/walk for extended periods and regularly lift up to 5075 lbs independently or with assistance.
• Flexibility to work a retail schedule, including evenings, weekends, and peak periods as dictated by business needs.

Possible Team Placements:

• Physical Retail Store Operations: Work within our flagship, luxury, specialty, or outlet store locations to manage back-of-house inventory flow, omni-channel fulfillment (BOPIS/SFS), visual standards, and stockroom logistics.
• Store Sales & Clienteling Leadership: Partner with store teams on high-touch consultative selling, customer experience metrics, CRM outreach, and premium product category growth.

Post-Internship Rotational Program Eligibility: Successful completion of this internship serves as an evaluation for a potential Offer of Intent (LOI) to qualify for entry into our elite multi-year post-graduate Retail Leadership Rotational Program. Top performers may be fast-tracked into full-time rotational tracks across Sales Leadership, Operations & Merchandising, and Store P&L Management upon graduation. Note that return offers are based on intern performance eligibility and business needs.

Why You'll Love Working With Us:

We're committed to creating an experience that is meaningful, supportive, and designed to help you launch your career. During our 10-week summer internship program, you won't just observeyou'll take ownership of real projects, contribute to core business goals, and see your work directly impact our retail stores.

You'll also get a firsthand look at what it's like to build your career here, with opportunities to:

• Build Future-Ready Skills: Gain hands-on experience using modern technology platforms and approved AI tools, developing practical fluency for today's retail landscape.
• Receive Dedicated Mentorship: Get regular 1:1 guidance and feedback from your manager, alongside personalized support from a formal mentor.
• Learn from Senior Leaders: Explore various career paths through open dialogues and Q&A sessions with senior retail leadership.
• Tackle Real Challenges: Participate in an intern-wide innovation project to build your strategic thinking and creative problem-solving skills in high-growth areas.
• Grow Your Network: Connect with peers and colleagues through casual coffee chats, social gatherings, and professional development workshops.
• Make an Impact: Give back to local communities through organized volunteer opportunities and join intern-led social events.
• Enjoy Employee Perks: Take advantage of our generous employee discount across our fleet of brands throughout your internship.

Purpose & Inclusion:

We pride ourselves on fostering an environment where every individual experiences a fair and equitable employee journey. We are committed to developing targeted resources that raise awareness around inclusion and eliminate barriers, ensuring a fair and inclusive workplace experience for everyone.

Social Impact & Responsibility:

At Wayfair, we focus on helping people on their journey to home - specifically those who have lost their way from home. We do this by leveraging our best assets, such as collaborating with leading nonprofit organizations, coordinating in-kind product donations, empowering our employees to get involved through paid volunteer time off programs, and encouraging our customers to donate. This multi-faceted approach allows us to support communities in need in authentic ways that align with Wayfair's broader mission of helping everyone, anywhere create their sense of home.

Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities: Wayfair is fully committed to providing equal opportunities for all individuals, including individuals with disabilities. As part of this commitment, Wayfair will make reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of qualified individuals with disabilities, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on business operations. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form.

About Wayfair Inc.: Wayfair is one of the world's largest online destinations for the home. Whether you work in our global headquarters in Boston, or in our warehouses or offices throughout the world, we're reinventing the way people shop for their homes. Through our commitment to industry-leading technology and creative problem-solving, we are confident that Wayfair will be home to the most rewarding work of your career. If you're looking for rapid growth, constant learning, and dynamic challenges, then you'll find that amazing career opportunities are knocking.

No matter who you are, Wayfair is a place you can call home. We're a community of innovators, risk-takers, and trailblazers who celebrate our differences, and know that our unique perspectives make us stronger, smarter, and well-positioned for success. We value and rely on the collective voices of our employees, customers, community, and suppliers to help guide us as we build a better Wayfair and world for all. Every voice, every perspective matters. That's why we're proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristic.

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