Exploring IKEA's 'Do-it-Yourself' Delivery
IKEA is rolling out new delivery options aimed at urban shoppers without cars, offering lower-cost, sustainable alternatives to home delivery.
With retail operations across 31 markets, Ingka Group - the biggest IKEA retailer, responsible for around 90% of IKEA’s global retail sales - is testing new supply chain solutions that not only lower costs but also support its sustainability goals.
Ingka Group, which operates IKEA stores under franchise from Inter IKEA Systems BV, runs three core businesses: IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments and Ingka Centres.
Together, they’re pushing the IKEA brand to adapt its delivery systems to meet customer needs in a changing urban landscape.
Urban dwellers are at the heart of the project. For many in large cities, car ownership is impractical or too expensive and public transport isn’t always suited to carrying bulky flat-packs.
Alastair Morgan, Global Core Services Manager at Ingka Group, lays out the challenge clearly: “Not everyone has access to a car in urban locations and public transport isn’t always ideal for large items,” he says.
“IKEA aims to serve the many, but traditional home delivery isn’t always suitable.”
This is where the new “DIY delivery” concept comes in. It’s a shared effort - part IKEA, part customer - resulting in more affordable and flexible take-home options.
At its core, this method reduces dependency on traditional delivery systems while offering a low-emissions alternative to van transport.
As of April 2025, several stores in Europe are running trials. Customers in IKEA Utrecht (Netherlands), IKEA Westbahnhof Vienna (Austria) and IKEA Gallerian Stockholm (Sweden) can now rent a selection of eco-friendly transport options:
- A trolley for short-distance walking or bus travel
- An electric four-wheel bike fitted with a storage box
- An electric cargo bike
- An electric trailer that can be pulled by hand or attached to a bike
The idea is simple: get a BILLY bookcase or MALM dresser home without needing a car. Prices are kept affordable and the service puts convenience and sustainability side-by-side.
Lockers offer 24/7 convenience and cut delivery miles
For customers living outside city centres, IKEA is also upgrading its locker pick-up model.
Instead of scheduling home deliveries, customers can now collect flat-pack orders from external modular lockers - installed in locations like grocery store car parks. These secure lockers are available 24/7, letting customers collect items on their own schedule, while cutting out the need for additional delivery trips.
The project is led by the Development and Innovation Network, a team effort involving Inter IKEA Group and all franchisees including Ingka. Working with an external company, IKEA has installed lockers in four UK supermarket car parks - with six more sites planned - as well as locations in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Peter Ac, Head of Supply Chain Innovations at Inter IKEA Group, says the idea is about meeting people where they are: “We are always looking for ways to make shopping more convenient and accessible.
"By testing pick-up lockers in new locations, we’re bringing IKEA closer to where people live, making it easier to collect purchases at a time and place that suits them.”
The model has proven popular. Testing began in November 2024 and feedback so far has been strongly positive, with many customers describing the ability to pick up flat-packs and do the weekly shop in one journey as a win.
Supply chains with sustainability in focus
These delivery updates show how IKEA is reshaping its supply chain to support customer habits and environmental goals at the same time.
Instead of expanding traditional van-based home delivery, which contributes to congestion and emissions, IKEA is trialling delivery models that put the customer in control and reduce environmental impact.
Whether it’s renting an electric cargo bike to ride home with a new table or picking up drawers from a locker while buying groceries, the aim is clear: keep things simple, flexible and green. For IKEA, these trials are part of a bigger strategy to build delivery methods that fit better into modern life.
Recognition is already coming in. The locker project has earned the Omnichannel Retailer Initiative of the Year award at the 2024 Retail Tech Innovation Hub Awards, proof that the new approach is hitting home.
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