Ikea Group China launching eCommerce trial

Swedish home furnishings retailer Ikea Group China will launch into eCommerce in Shanghai and start selling its products online within the next couple of weeks.

As it is a pilot program, delivery services will be limited to Shanghai initially. All its ready-to-assemble furniture, appliances and home accessories, except for food and green plants, will be available.

If the trial is successful, Ikea plans to roll out its eCommerce services across China as part of its multi-channel retailing strategy. It does not have any stores in China’s third- and fourth-tier cities, but in May Ikea established a pickup and order point in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. The stores in nearby Ningbo will provide goods for that service.

In its latest financial year, Ikea China had sales revenues of 11.7 billion yuan (US$1.76 billion), jumping 19.4 per cent year-on-year. About 83 million customers visited its stores, up 20 per cent from the previous year. Ikea’s websites also had more than 67 million individual visits, a 25 per cent increase.

Ikea opened three new stores in China this year, in Chengdu and Suzhou in Jiangsu province, and Foshan in Guangdong province. It says it will keep to its plan of opening three new stores in China every year.