Ikea introduces new regional online shopping service for Tasmania

IKEA could be a step closer to opening a Tasmanian store, with the furniture and homewares giant offering a new regional online shopping service to the state first.

Ikea’s “click and collect” service, rolled out in Tasmania before any other region, will allow shoppers to nominate a day to pick up online purchases in Hobart and Launceston . Picture: AFP/JONATHAN NACKSTRAND

IKEA could be a step closer to opening a Tasmanian store, with the furniture and homewares giant offering a new regional online shopping service to the state first.

The ferry trip to stock up at a Melbourne megastore could be a thing of the past, with the Swedish company replacing a mail-order service with two pick-up warehouses.

The “click and collect” service, rolled out in Tasmania before any other region, will allow shoppers to nominate a day to pick up online purchases in Hobart and Launceston within five to 14 days.

“We’ve had some good success with the mail-order solution in Tasmania,” IKEA’s multichannel manager Michael Donath told the Sunday Tasmanian.

“Tasmanians have embraced us in a really great way.

“We thought it’s probably an opportunity to make the process much more seamless.”

The company receives hundreds of visits to its website from Tasmanians each day, and is aware of the well travelled route across Bass Strait to shop at its stores.

But no decision has been made on a full store for the state, customer experience manager Cass Hall said.

“We feel very lucky that we now can offer our products properly to Tasmanians,” Mr Hall said.

“There are no set plans for a store just yet but we will learn from this experience.”

Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said it was possible the move could be a step towards a Tasmanian store, possibly scaled down in size.

“What retailers are now doing is testing markets,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“The fact that IKEA’s trying to make it easier for people to get goods online could be the catalyst to moving into Tasmania.”

Originally published as Ikea introduces new regional online shopping service for Tasmania