eBay has announced partnerships with three companies - Handy, Porch and InstallerNet - to provide installation and assembly services after purchases, from furniture assembly to smart home device installation.
E-commerce platform eBay has announced partnerships with three companies - Handy, Porch and InstallerNet - to provide installation and assembly services after purchases, from furniture assembly to smart home device installation.
Consumers will see the service at checkout. If they need this extra service, these partners of eBay will send out a follow-up email and schedule the installation.
New York-based Handy offers services like TV mounting, smart home devices setup and furniture assembly; Boston-based InstallerNet provides consumer electronics installation via independent contractors; and Seattle-based Porch handles over 1,000 various types of projects from TV mounting to smart home services.
“A massive amount of home and electronic items are sold on eBay daily, many of which require professional installation,” said Alyssa Steele, vice president of Merchandising at eBay, in a statement. “With these new partnerships, we’re able to combine our incredible selection of inventory with easy access to affordable and trusted service professionals, making eBay a one-stop shop for our customers.”
The home services market has been growing steadily, as the number of connected-home devices grows and on-demand services become more popular.
U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon has been providing home services since 2015 and has placed its focus on smart home services with a new offering in mid-2017.
Best Buy, the U.S. consumer electronics retailer, has offered the Geek Squad service, to dispatch experts who can answer users’ questions on smart homes and help install smart home devices and Wi-Fi networking systems.
U.S. retail name Walmart has partnered with Handy while e-commerce platform Overstock.com has been working with Porch starting this year.
The new partnerships could help eBay compete with Amazon in the field of online purchases. eBay adds the installation service directly into the checkout process. Meanwhile, Amazon’s Home Services is a standalone platform, offering the services when consumers ask for them.