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Ikea plans to sell its goods through online retailers

Swedish furniture giant is looking into a pilot program to reach more customers through the internet.

Terry Collins Staff Reporter, CNET News
Terry writes about social networking giants and legal issues in Silicon Valley for CNET News. He joined CNET News from the Associated Press, where he spent the six years covering major breaking news in the San Francisco Bay Area. Before the AP, Terry worked at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis and the Kansas City Star. Terry's a native of Chicago.
Terry Collins

Ikea will soon sell its products through third-party online retailers in an attempt to reach more customers. 

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Ikea's smart light bulb could soon be sold officially through third-party online retailers like Amazon. 

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

A pilot program is scheduled to start sometime next year, the Swedish furniture retailer said Tuesday. The company is "curious" about what will happen as it plans to gather new insights from the pilot, Ikea spokesperson Josefin Thorell said in an email.

"[However], there are no decisions regarding what marketplaces we want to partner with yet, and also no decision regarding what markets," Thorell added. 

The news of Ikea possibly using the likes of Amazon and other third-party sites to sell its furniture and smart home products comes nearly four months after Ikea knocked down reports that it had reached a deal to work directly with the e-commerce giant. 

Ikea said at the time that any products currently sold on Amazon or other sites are being done by private resellers. More than 2.1 billion people visited Ikea's websites globally in 2016.