Overview
In a win for anyone who experiences a panic attack at the mere thought of being stuck in a daunting IKEA store maze, the homewares and furniture company is making its online shopping and home delivery service available to Sydney customers from today.
While New South Wales is a little late to the party — with online shopping already offered in the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and Queensland — the move will no doubt score IKEA some extra customer brownie points in the lead-up to retail giant Amazon's impending Australian launch.
As with its interstate counterparts, IKEA's Sydney online service will allow customers to shop 9000 products from the comfort of their home and have their goods delivered (albeit without any Swedish meatballs) from $99. Or they can opt for the $40 'click and collect' alternative to go and retrieve their order from IKEA's Tempe, Rhodes or Marsden Park stores.
According to IKEA Australia's multichannel manager Michael Donath, the move is a logical step forward in the company's plans for Aussie-wide growth. "Opening up online shopping for Sydneysiders is the next phase of our expansion, as we strive to make IKEA more widely available," he said.
Let's hope the other states won't be left hanging for too long.