Photo: TaskRabbit
How many people does it take to assemble a piece of furniture from IKEA? The answer to that question now appears to be only one — at least in the New York metro and San Francisco Bay areas where the retailer has rolled out an in-home assembly program using its TaskRabbit service.
IKEA acquired TaskRabbit last October. The company, based in San Francisco, matches “taskers” with customers who need help with errands, home repairs, housecleaning, plumbing, etc. The two companies had worked together in the U.K. since 2016 when TaskRabbit was hired to assemble furniture bought at IKEA’s London store.
Customers who want someone else to put their furniture together pay a flat fee, beginning at $36 and going higher depending on the piece. According to reports, pricing for assembly using TaskRabbit is cheaper than other outside services that currently perform the same function for IKEA pieces.
Jackie DeChamps, chief operating officer at IKEA Group, told CNBC that customers in the San Francisco area have been pleased with the new assembly program.
When IKEA Group acquired TaskRabbit last year, the company’s CEO, Jesper Brodin, saw it as an acknowledgement that “urbanization and digital transformation” are forcing retailers to move more quickly and become more flexible in their approach to business. The goal, he said, was for the company to offer products and services that made the everyday lives of IKEA’s customers “a little bit easier.”