Do it yourself? Ikea can work for you by acquiring TaskRabbit

Ikea, the Swedish furniture retail giant, has bought TaskRabbit, a San Francisco startup that lets people hire workers to do short-term odd jobs—like setting up Ikea furniture, fixing a leaky faucet, or setting up for a party.

Ikea said it tested TaskRabbit in its stores in London last year and plans to roll out the service in U.S. stores and more U.K. locations. More countries may be added later. Before the TaskRabbit deal, certain Ikea stores already provided some independent workers to assemble goods.

TaskRabbit is one of the best-known startups in the so-called “gig” economy that links freelance workers with jobs, from handymen to movers to assistants. It has about 60 employees, but over 60,000 independent workers use its platform.

As more people shift to shop online, brick-and-mortar stores are looking for ways to offer convenient services to win back customers. Best Buy recently launched a program that sends its employees to customer's homes to recommend electronics. And department store operator Kohl's will soon offer services at about a dozen stores through a deal with online retailer Amazon, which would let Kohl's shoppers hire someone to install products at their homes.

"The taskers are not employed by TaskRabbit or IKEA Group," Mona Liss, an Ikea spokeswoman, told Ars. "However, in general, IKEA supports good working conditions. We are really excited about this acquisition. We look forward to working with the competent and passionate TaskRabbit team and innovate the way in which IKEA customers can access services."

Ikea said it expects the deal to be completed next month, and that TaskRabbit will remain an independent company and stay based in San Francisco.

The Swedish company, which has nearly 360 stores around the world, did not say how much it is paying for TaskRabbit.