IKEA is offering to buy back certain furniture that is no longer wanted or needed to resell in their bargain section. In exchange, customers get an IKEA gift card for up to 50 percent of the original price.
"By making sustainable living more simple and accessible, Ikea hopes that the initiative will help its customers take a stand against excessive consumption this Black Friday and in the years to come," the Swedish furniture giant saidin a release.
The buyback initiative will be available in 27 countries in late November, including the United Kingdom, Russia and Canada, but not the US at this time.
The New York Times reports there are some IKEA stores around the world with various buyback programs, but this would be the first time the initiative would be scaled across this many countries.
“Rather than buy things you don’t need this Black Friday, we want to help customers give their furniture a second life instead of making an impulse buy,” says Ingka Group Deputy Retail Operations Manager Stefan Vanoverbeke in a press release.
Products like dressers, bookcases, shelf units, chairs, tables and cupboards must be fully assembled in order to be eligible for the buyback offer. Customers will have to fill out a form and drop it off at an IKEA store. An employee will assess it and offer a price to buy the item back at, depending on the condition of the product. The item is then put in the discount area of the store and sold for the price IKEA bought it back for.
The company says the initiative is part of their sustainability push, to address “unsustainable consumption and its impact on climate change.”
Coronavirus pandemic lockdowns and stay-at-home orders have been good for home improvements and IKEA. The company announced last week sales have surged 45 percent year-over-year.