New Delhi: Ikea has more than doubled its online sales in India within two years, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, which forced people to shop from home.
From around 12% before the pandemic, online sales currently account for more than a fourth of the Swedish furniture retailer's sales in the domestic market, Peter Betzel, CEO & CSO at Ikea India, told TOI. "We have seen all around the world that online sales and online interest have been increasing 70%. It's almost a 30% share of the total turnover," he said.
"The trend is here to stay," said Betzel on the eve of opening an 'Ikea City Store' in Worli, Mumbai. City Stores are group a of smaller stores that will be launched by the company to reach more consumers.
While only a limited inventory of products at these smaller stores will be available for direct takeaway, others will be home delivered. The move, which signals an omni-channel approach by Ikea, is in sharp contrast to its original global strategy of banking solely on big-format stores, similar to a Walmart in the US. "What has also happened is that we have been speeding up our omni-channel approach in terms of accessibility," said Betzel.
Ikea has big plans for 2022, with another City Store scheduled to open in Mumbai, followed by a big-format and a City Store in Bengaluru. Ikea has committed Rs 10,500-crore investment in Indian retail operations and Rs 6,000 crore in Maharashtra by 2030.
