IKEA tests online order plus pick-up service in Pamplona

IKEA has announced a new type of sales service opening in Pamplona. It’s not a total revolution, but it is a step towards realising their plans for a full internet store within three years.

The company has launched its first pick-up point in Pamplona, northern Spain, for trials. The heart of the system is a venue where customers, having checked the Ikea website to find their desired items and placed an order by email, then collect their purchases at the pick-up point.

It opens the way for a new form of ‘multichannel’ sales that Ikea wants to promote in the coming years, although the retailer steers away from the phrase ‘online store’ at this stage – there is no dedicated website, online payments are not accepted, and customers have to personally pick up their orders.

According to a company director Arturo García, Ikea wants to offer online sales in two or three years, but blames the delay on the complexities of adapting the logistics of a company that sells at low prices because the customer “takes it home and puts it together.”