Dive Brief:

• Ikea U.S. on Tuesday announced plans to roll out its TaskRabbit At-Home Assembly service, now available online in select markets and in six Ikea stores across the U.S.

• The TaskRabbit service is available online, wherever TaskRabbit services are located, and in six Ikea stores in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City and New Jersey. Ikea stores in Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, Boston, Washington D.C. and elsewhere will also add the service some time this year, the companies said.

• Last September, Ikea acquired the odd-job startup, which remains based in San Francisco and operates in 40 cities in the U.S. and U.K. 

Dive Insight:

There are few tie-ups quite as synergist as this one between Ikea and TaskRabbit: Ikea is able to offer customers relief from the infamously convoluted assembly of its furniture, while TaskRabbit is benefiting from its new parent’s deep pockets.

The price for assembly with a TaskRabbit starts at $36 and is based on a flat rate that depends on the type of the item. Select products, including Ikea kitchens and bathrooms, are not included as part of the at-home assembly and/or mounting service option, according to a press release.

While that adds to the cost of Ikea's low-priced furniture, the retailer is driving down its shipping fees, which had been among the highest in online sales in the space. In January, Ikea U.S. began rolling out a new, lower-priced shipping and delivery option that starts at $29, regardless of weight and size. (Delivery rates, instead, vary based on demand and distance from the closest Ikea store.) For smaller online orders Ikea now offers a new flat parcel rate of $9 regardless of zip code. 

Last year, the retailer also introduced a $5 click-and-collect option in 31 of its 47 U.S. stores, with more added this year, though the fee is refunded in a way with a $5 Ikea gift card toward a future purchase.