Ikea is launching a peer-to-peer marketplace called Ikea Preowned, where customers can buy and sell used Ikea furniture. This move is part of a broader transformation at Ikea, which includes online sales, city centre stores, and services like assembly. The marketplace aims to compete with established platforms like eBay and Craigslist, aligning with Ikea’s goal of becoming “circular and climate positive” by 2030.
Me speculating:
Pattern: Circular economy.
Weak Signal: Recommerce protocols.
Ikea’s Preowned platform may signal a shift towards recommerce protocols for the exchange of second-hand goods. Ikea’s marketplace incorporates protocol-like features: peer-to-peer transactions that reduce Ikea’s intermediary role, increased user control over listings and pricing, and the potential for future interoperability with other brands or marketplaces. This could evolve into open standards and protocols for recommerce, enabling interactions across various second-hand markets and changing the way we think about product lifecycles and the role of retailers in circular economies.