Ikea to launch huge second-hand market, new buy back campaign
Furniture giant Ikea has announced a new campaign where customers can sell unwanted Ikea products back to the retailer, or purchase pre-loved items in store.
The retailer’s Green Friday campaign will kick off on Thursday, November 25 and run through to Friday, December 31.
During this time, Ikea Family members will receive an additional 50 per cent on a refund card when they generate a quote through the Ikea Buy Back service between November 25 and December 5, and return the furniture between November 25 and December 31 this year.
“So for example, if customers might typically have got back $100 on an Ikea Poang chair when they returned this item to Buy Back, they will get $150 during the Green Friday campaign,” said Ikea spokesperson Lauren Sinfield.
Customers wishing to purchase pre-loved items on offer, are guaranteed by the retailer to never pay more than 50 per cent of the original price on Buy Back products.
Ikea spokesperson Lauren Sinfield said that the Green Friday initiative is a fantastic way to give furniture a new life.
“A circular economy keeps materials, energy and water in use for as long as possible, and designs out waste from the start, promoting circular systems of re-use and sharing, or reinvention at the end of life into something new,” she said.
“Giving used items a second life and buying pre-loved products are just some of things that we all can do to lower our climate footprint and be part of the circular economy.
"For Ikea, our Buy Back service is a way for us to extend the life of our products and have more products available to our customers at a great price.”
Ms Sinfield said that customers wishing to participate in the initiative need only head to the Ikea website, and then into their local store.
“Simply visit the online tool to identify your Ikea products and follow the quick process to ensure the items qualify for return Used Furniture Buy Back Program Australia - Ikea,” she said.
“Customers can input their Family member number to access the Green Friday promotion, get their quote generated and then head in-store to the circular hub with their pre-loved IKEA products.
"This year, our stores in Victoria won’t be included in the Green Friday promotion.”
Those who are not a part of the Ikea Family club can join free of charge on the Ikea website.
Pre-loved purchases will continue to be available after the promotional period, with Ikea also confirming that a new As-Is platform will be piloted from early 2022.
Previous pre-loved campaign paving the way for circular economy
Ikea’s 2020 Buy Back Friday promotion saw 10,000 products returned in one week, surpassing the total for the entire year prior, with 85 per cent of the items resold in the campaign period.
In the last financial year alone, more than 30,000 products were also potentially diverted from landfill because of the Buy Back service, equating to roughly 300 tonnes of furniture.
Ryan Burman, Commercial Activity Leader said that the service encourages reuse of functional furniture, rather than contribution to landfill.
“For the second year, we’re incentivising customers to extend the life of their pre-loved Ikea products through the Buy Back service and encouraging them to choose pre-loved items from our As-Is section when they shop,” he said.
“The service encourages customers to give their furniture a second, third, or even fourth life and potentially divert from landfill, and in turn, also provides shoppers with more affordable and sustainable product solutions for their space.”
Sustainability Manager Ikea Australia Mellissa Hamilton said that customer demand has also influenced the resurgence of the Buy Back initiative.
“It’s clear the interest Australians have in the second hand economy is growing and we see a strong demand from our customers for pre-loved Ikea products,” she said.
Ikea’s commitment to 2030 sustainability goal
Ms Sinfield said that Ikea’s Green Friday campaign is part of a wider initiative focussed on sustainability.
“Recent Ikea research found 1 in 5 Australians buy second-hand goods all or most of the time or avoid buying anything new, with more and more people considering buying second-hand where they can over new products,” she said.
“Our ambition is to inspire and enable our customers to live better everyday lives, within the limits of the planet."
"We’re not there yet, but we are well on our way to becoming a circular business by 2030, where all Ikea products can be reused, repaired, reassembled and recycled by our customers," she said.
"We also aim to save as much energy as possible in our operations, with a goal to becoming climate positive by 2030 - reducing more greenhouse gas emissions than the Ikea value chain emits, while growing the Ikea business.”
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