Finally! Ikea launch online delivery store
But it’s going to cost us a lot more...
ITS flatpack furniture is so popular it has been blamed for causing traffic hold-ups on the M50.
So now bosses at Ikea’s giant Ballymun store in north Dublin have introduced a nationwide home delivery service so shoppers can order Billy bookcases or Strandmon armchairs online – or any of its 8,300 products – without the, for many, long trek out to the outlet.
While customers visiting the store could already ask for items to be delivered to their homes, the Green Party had asked Fingal County Council to insist Ikea offered an online home-delivery service in an effort to cut the number of cars on the traffic-choked M50.
Ikea is so popular it attracts as many as three million shoppers a year in Ireland – that’s more than half the population.
‘We know accessibility, convenience and value for time are critical factors in meeting our customers’ needs,’ a spokesman said.
However, not everyone was delighted with the new service yesterday, with some potential customers complaining that it would cost more. It will be €44 to deliver a flatpack cabinet to an address in Dublin, €64 to surrounding counties and €84 to further-away counties such as Cork, Kerry and Donegal.
This is significantly more than the home-delivery cost for those visiting the store, (the equivalent fromstore delivery prices are €29, €49 and €69), although the cost stays the same if multiple items are added to the order.
Ikea defended the costs on Twitter yesterday, explaining that its online delivery comes from the UK, meaning that ‘it does mean the transport costs are higher than having delivery from the store.’ It said customers can also arrange collection of online orders by contacting its customer service centre with their order number and delivery receipt to hand. It will then arrange for a collection. They can also return products to any Irish Ikea store, including an Order and Collection Point in Carrickmines.
‘They will need to take a copy of their order acknowledgment email, delivery receipt and the payment card with which they paid for the products,’ the spokesman said.
‘For all online purchases returned after 14 days of receipt, the customer is responsible for the cost of returning the products unless the product is faulty or not as described, in which case we will refund any reasonable costs the customer
€84 to deliver to Kerry or Donegal
incurs in returning it to us. We will make any refund due to the customer as soon as possible.’
The spokesman added that if customers decide to return products after they have started to assemble them, they should disassemble them to the extent necessary to allow them to be properly returned. If they feel they could damage the product by disassembling it, they are urged to contact the store.
A spokesman added: ‘Customers’ needs are changing, and want more choice in how they shop.’
Fingal County Council said it would ‘review the planning history of the development, including all planning compliance submissions and consider planning enforcement if appropriate’.