Crate & Barrel partners with odd-job service Handy

Dive Brief:

Crate & Barrel on Tuesday announced a partnership with Handy, an odd-job online marketplace. The services will be available in more than 90 Crate & Barrel and CB2 locations across the country.
Customers, with the help of Crate & Barrel and CB2 store associates, can design a fully-furnished room and then tap Handy professionals to assemble furniture or install lighting fixtures, window treatments or other home items, according to a company press release.
Appointments with Handy professionals can be scheduled seven days a week, between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. The services are backed by the "Handy Happiness Guarantee."

Dive Insight:

The push for retailers — particularly those selling home furnishings — to offer design and assembly services has gained traction in recent years, as evidenced by Crate & Barrel's latest tie-up.

Last March, Walmart also formed a partnership with Handy, which added furniture and TV assembly services to more than 2,000 Walmart stores across the country. The partnership has since expanded to include the retailer's online business. B8ta also teamed up with the home service marketplace to install smart devices in its San Francisco and Houston locations.

Handy seems to be the company of choice for retailers of all stripes looking to offer installation services, as eBay last year also teamed up with Handy, as well as Porch and InstallerNet, partnerships that came a year after the online marketplace began offering customers the option to set up appointments at local auto repair shops to install tires purchased on the platform.

And Wayfair, who also has a partnership with Handy, began offering virtual interior design services last August, which gives customers the opportunity to interact with the company beyond scrolling through and purchasing items from its product selection. Following the same trend, Ikea formed a partnership last December with kitchen planning service Traemand and acquired odd-job service TaskRabbit in September 2017.

Creating this kind of end-to-end shopping experience will likely benefit retailers in several ways, including helping to cement loyalty.