IT’S NOT difficult to see why IKEA is looking to take on a bigger role in the second-hand furniture market. The evidence suggests that its products are already being bought and sold there, so why lose touch with them after the first sale? A retailer that knows its own range and has stores where customers can bring things back has something distinctly useful to offer to the market.

In recent years, the likes of eBay, Vinted and Facebook Marketplace have made buying used goods more familiar than ever. Meanwhile, Zalando’s partnership with Vestiaire Collective is a great example of how retailers are bringing pre-owned products into their own businesses. IKEA’s opportunity is significant; the task is to work out which parts of that market it can serve most profitably.

There are two developments here. First: IKEA’s marketplace approach, piloted internationally over the last few years, has now launched in the UK and Ireland, allowing customers to trade directly with one another. Second: IKEA already buys back furniture through its stores, but now also plans to test linking that service to marketplace listings in Spain and Portugal by the end of December 2026. This way, it can learn from both approaches without committing to handling everything at once.

That makes sense, because a marketplace lets IKEA facilitate transactions without taking on the cost of handling every item. Buying back furniture offers another commercial opportunity: earning revenue from the same product several times over its lifecycle. The gap between buyback and resale prices could make that attractive – provided it covers the transport, storage and any refurbishment needed.

Retailers have learnt a lot from e-commerce returns in recent years, which gives IKEA a useful starting point. The industry has put people and processes in place to inspect and grade goods, clean or refurbish them and get them back on sale. That said, a bookcase used for ten years may need more work than something returned a fortnight after purchase. The task is to adapt those capabilities to less predictable stock.

Furniture also presents a problem that a flat-pack retailer knows particularly well. Moving a bookcase in a box is one thing; moving it assembled is quite another. Interestingly, IKEA’s UK buyback service actually asks customers to bring eligible furniture back properly assembled. But if you extend that into a collection service, you have to allow for the extra vehicle space and handling involved; the efficiency of the original delivery does not carry over automatically.

It’s therefore worth asking the question of how much of this process could happen locally. Stores could provide convenient points for assessment and resale, helping to keep costs down. There will, of course, be products that justify specialist refurbishment elsewhere, but if there is a buyer near the store, why send the item to a central warehouse and back out again? 

In my opinion, that creates an opportunity for logistics providers to not only carry the furniture, but to help make the decisions. Before sending a van, it’s pertinent to know whether the item is complete and whether the crew can get it out of the house, as getting either wrong could significantly erode the margin. IKEA’s delivery trial with TippTapp in Portugal and Sweden is therefore worth keeping a close eye on, as it is set to connect customers with people who can transport an item – supporting the move without bringing it into IKEA’s own network.

Looking ahead, it will also be interesting to see whether IKEA ever chooses to open this up to furniture from other manufacturers, which could potentially broaden the marketplace’s appeal. Recent years have seen the marketplace trend grow, with the likes of M&S and Next already selling other brands online. The trade-off in a second-hand furniture context is that unfamiliar products can make assessment and repair more complex – and knowing exactly which hinge you need is a small detail until you cannot actually find one.

Ultimately, IKEA’s recent move is a big deal – and a timely one, too. Furniture is among the priorities in the EU’s ecodesign work programme, which emphasises durability and repairability, and learning what keeps products in use could help retailers prepare as requirements develop over the long-term.

For IKEA, the opportunity is to make second-hand a larger part of its business by staying involved with products throughout their lifetimes. Sometimes buying an item back, repairing it and reselling it will make sense. Sometimes helping its owner find a buyer will be the better business. Retailers have the customers and much of the infrastructure already; I’ll be interested to see how IKEA makes the most of this opportunity.

Chris Clowes is executive director at global supply chain and logistics consultancy, SCALA.