(Yicai) Aug. 5 -- Swedish furniture giant Ikea will soon open an official store on Chinese e-commerce platform JD.Com to strengthen its presence in China’s online retail market.

Ikea’s store on JD.Com will open on Aug. 8, the firm announced yesterday. Customers will be able to place orders online and get their items delivered flexibly from a nearby location thanks to a new model integrating offline store resources and online sales and distribution channels.

In August 2023, Ikea unveiled a three-year development strategy for the Chinese market, planning to invest CNY6.3 billion (USD876.9 million). With this strategy, the company aimed to become a leader in home furnishing and home life, offer personalized shopping experiences, and build an omnichannel ecosystem.

According to media reports, Ikea’s new store on JD.Com will offer over 6,500 products across 168 categories, which JD Logistics will deliver directly from Ikea’s warehouses to customers.

Ikea already operates an official store on Tmall, a shopping app, and a WeChat mini-program store in China. These online channels received 370 million visits in the fiscal year 2024, with online sales accounting for about 25 percent of the total, the firm said.

China is one of the world’s most digitally advanced retail markets, so the company will continue to explore online and offline opportunities to align with Chinese consumers' shopping habits and expectations, Ikea noted.

Editor: Futura Costaglione