Ikea Acquires TaskRabbit in Effort to Modernize Retail

Addition of ‘gig economy’ pioneer sets up interesting retail experiment

Shoppers look at furniture at the Ikea store in Paramus, N.J., on Jan. 27, 2005. STEPHEN CHERNIN/GETTY IMAGES

In September, Swedish furniture retailer Ikea quietly snapped up TaskRabbit in a bid to transform its longstanding retail model.

TaskRabbit was an early pioneer of the “gig economy,” the industry of on-demand services. Using a smartphone app, TaskRabbit customers could summon contractors—“taskers”—to perform a variety of one-time services, such as housecleaning or furniture assembly, one of the most sought-after tasks on the site. Given that nearly all of Ikea’s furniture offerings require self-assembly, the acquisition seems to be immediately synergistic.