You’re in IKEA on a weekend. As you try your best to push through the dense mass of people who have too much time on their hands — sashaying about — just so you can pick up this tiny fake plant for your window, you think to yourself: “Gee, if only I could order this online from IKEA and have them ship it to me instead”.
If that sounds at all familiar, let me tell you that dreams do come true because IKEA Malaysia now supports online shopping. Yes, you can finally buy that Fejka from the comfort of your home.
Before we get into that, here’s the DL (or the down-low, as the kids say it). IKEA revealed last year that they were planning to launch their e-commerce store in Malaysia sometime in 2018 and it appears that that time is now.
The website functions like your usual e-commerce site. Just choose the item you want and if it’s available for purchase, you will see a “Buy Online” button. Just click on that and it will automatically be added to your cart. Not all items can be purchased online so if you come across one that doesn’t have the “Buy Online” button, you’ll have to go to the store to do so.
Once you’ve made your selections, simply click on your cart, review your purchase and hit checkout now when you’re satisfied. The total price of your cart will be included though the amount is excluding delivery.
Speaking of delivery, you can choose between two delivery options: Parcel delivery and Truck delivery. Parcel delivery is for smaller items and will cost you RM40 while truck delivery will cost RM98 (yellow), RM140 (blue) and RM235 (pink) depending on your zone.
They also support East Malaysia shipping via parcel for RM100, truck (in Kuching, Miri and Kota Kinabalu) for RM675 and Click & Collect for RM575. For detailed breakdown on the delivery cost by zone and region, head on over to this link. IKEA also supports corporate or bulk orders, though you will have to email them about it.
I personally think that RM40 for parcel delivery is quite expensive and it is way above anything I’ve ever had to pay for shipping from other Malaysian e-commerce platforms. If, for example, I wanted to buy a Fejka (the fake plastic plant from earlier), that item is priced at RM14, but I would then have to pay RM40 in delivery, bringing the total up to RM54…for a plastic plant. Looking up the same plant on Lazada and I can get it for just RM20 with free delivery.
On the other hand, I think the truck delivery fees are pretty reasonable because you can fit a LOT of things in a truck. I tried to max it out by stuffing my cart with like a dozen beds and closets, but when I hit checkout it still only charged me RM98 for my zone. Keep in mind that truck delivery will require you to select a shipping timeslot that’s subject to availability. Delivery to condos and gated residences are not available on weekends and after 5pm on weekdays.
You can also choose the option to have your item assembled for you in the “Shipping” tab during checkout. IKEA will charge you a fee that’s equivalent to 10% of the price of your item if you want it assembled.
For now, payment options are limited to just debit or credit card payments with Visa or Mastercard. Online banking payment solutions like Maybank2U don’t appear to be supported yet. Also, you can’t shop with the mobile app yet so you’ll have to head to the desktop site if you want to shop online.
As a whole, I think the process is pretty straightforward. I’d love to see more items supported in the future as well as more payment options and app support, but beyond that this looks like a pretty solid experience. Of course, I would love to have a lower fee for parcel shipment — or maybe like free shipment with a minimum order or something like that — but that may just be a pipe dream.
What do you think of IKEA’s new online store? Let me know in the comments below.
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