The Swedish furniture giant Ikea expands its business model and challenges established second-hand market leaders such as eBay, Craigslist, and Gumtree with a new peer-to-peer platform. The newly introduced marketplace "Ikea Preowned" enables customers to buy and sell used furniture directly with each other. The pilot will be conducted in Madrid and Oslo until the end of the year before a global rollout is planned, according to Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka, the main operator of Ikea markets.

‘This has been a long-standing dream that we wanted to realize,’ Brodin told the Financial Times. ‘Ikea is now in a position where we can do more advanced and cooler things. Confidence in our digital development is enormous.’

The new marketplace is part of a comprehensive transformation that Ikea has undergone in recent years. The company, once known for its large stores outside city centers, has increasingly evolved into a digital retailer offering online sales, city stores, and services such as furniture assembly.

So far, Ikea had a smaller program where used furniture was bought from customers and resold in the store. However, the new marketplace takes it a step further by promoting direct trade between customers. Brodin estimates that Ikea has an even higher market share in the second-hand market than in the sale of new furniture.

Customers can list their products on the platform, upload their own images, and set a selling price. Additionally, Ikea offers its own AI-generated images and product dimensions. The buyer picks up the furniture directly from the seller, who has the option to receive either cash or an Ikea voucher with a 15% bonus.

‘Very often there is a monopoly or oligopoly with the platforms,’ explained Brodin in relation to services like eBay or Gumtree in the United Kingdom and Finn in Norway. For example, there are around 8,700 IKEA products listed on Finn in Oslo alone. The initial listings on IKEA Preowned include larger items such as sofas for up to 600 euros and wardrobes for 450 euros, as well as smaller items like toilet paper holders for 4 euros.

The advertisements are free of charge, but Ikea is considering charging a "symbolic fee" in the future. "We will review the entire offer, including its economic viability. If many people use the offer to receive a discount at Ikea, it is a good way to reestablish contact with our customers. I am very curious. It makes business sense," Brodin added.

Ikea had previously tested selling new furniture through third-party platforms such as Alibaba's Tmall in China. However, the preowned marketplace is the company's first foray into the secondhand market and aligns with Ikea's goal to become "circular and climate-friendly" by 2030.

The world's largest retail chain originally planned to offer online shopping worldwide within three years. However, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated this process to just six weeks. "It was a matter of survival for us," explained Brodin. "We were 100 percent closed. Digital transformation saved us.

Ikea is now planning to develop a platform that will become "the go-to place for furniture," with the marketplace expected to be "one of the most important components." Additional components could include services, financing, and home planning, added Brodin.