IKEA’s new step towards sustainability: the online marketplace for used furniture is coming

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 08. 28. 11:51

IKEA’s new project, an online marketplace for second-hand furniture, may soon change the world of second-hand furniture trade. The Swedish home furnishing giant recently launched a platform called “Ikea Preowned”, where customers can buy used Ikea products and also use a reassembly service. With this, IKEA wants to compete with resale sites such as eBay, Gumtree or Finn, Business Insider reported.

The new platform is currently being tested in Madrid and Oslo, but the service is planned to be extended to other markets by the end of the year. Sellers can list their products with their own photos and price quotes, while the site’s artificial intelligence system automatically adds sizes and promotional images to the ads.

Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka, who is responsible for the operation of IKEA stores, spoke excitedly about the initiative: “This has been a dream for some time. We are in a place at IKEA where we can do more advanced and cool things. There is incredible trust in the digitally developing company.”

The IKEA spokesperson also emphasized the importance of the project, pointing out that the global market for used furniture is growing rapidly. According to forecasts for 2024, annual growth of 6.4% is expected, and IKEA products already account for 10% of the second-hand home furnishing market.

Trade in used furniture is also becoming more and more popular in Hungary, as Pénzcentrum also wrote. MOHU, for example, sold the equipment that had become redundant for pennies, which indicates that the increase in demand for sustainable home furnishings can also be seen in action in our country.
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