IKEA launches eCommerce site in Thailand

IKEA Thailand has launched an eCommerce platform to meet the changing lifestyles of modern shoppers who spend a considerable amount of time online. Aimed at modern shoppers, the Swedish furniture giant looks to provide a channel to access IKEA’s products and inspirations. The online store will include IKEA’s furniture and home decorating items as well as countrywide delivery service.Lacia Sherlock, deputy retail manager Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines said the team took about two years to study the market demand, develop the infrastructure, and prepare everything before launching its eCommerce service in Southeast Asia. The online stores were first available in Singapore and Malaysia, launched in 2017 and 2018 respectively.According to Sherlock, the responses in both markets have seen good sales with Singapore’s online store accounting for 10% of total sales, while in Malaysia, eCommerce sales hit 5% of total sales after only three months.“With our official launch, we are confident that our service will meet the demands of online shoppers in Thailand, and receive just as warm a response. We are pleased to now be able to provide this access to Thais. We have been wanting to do this for a long time, along with providing them with a superior experience and inspiration through both of our two Bangkok stores” she added.Tom Suter, store manager, IKEA Bang Yai said during the two-month test run in May, there were 1,344,700 visits and 4,900 orders at IKEA Thailand’s online site.“We are grateful to IKEA’s fans who have welcomed IKEA Online Store and provided us with valuable feedback so that we could further improve our services. By the end of this year, we are looking at achieving roughly 17,000 online orders. We believe that IKEA’s Online Store will help strengthen, as well as drive sustainable growth of IKEA Thailand, as our popular in-store shopping experience is complemented with our new online offering,” he added.