Walmart this morning announced a partnership with home services provider Handy, which will allow customers to purchase in-home installation and assembly assistance in over 2,000 of Walmart’s stores. News of the deal follows IKEA’s recent launch of its own in-home assembly service through TaskRabbit. It will also challenge Amazon’s growing Home Services business, which includes assembly and installations, among other things.
Founded in 2012, New York-based Handy has raised over $110 million, according to Crunchbase, for its app that lets anyone book household service providers, like cleaners, plumbers, handymen, and more. Today it has grown to over 80,000 service professionals on its platform, and has served over half a million customers to date across over a million bookings.
Now Handy will be able to sell its services directly to Walmart shoppers who need help with the installation or assembly of a large purchase like a couch or a new TV, for example. The service is priced similarly to IKEA’s TaskRabbit, which charges a flat rate per type of item, starting at $36 and going up for more complicated assemblies.
However, Handy will charge a flat rate of $59 for furniture assembly across the board, or $79 for TV mounting and installation.
To buy the service, Walmart customers can pick up a card from Handy’s in-store display then bring it to the register to pay. They will then receive a unique code to enter on Handy.com/walmart. On the website, they can book a local service pro as they would normally, by scheduling an appointment from 7 am to 11 pm. The Handy professionals’ work is also guaranteed and insured through Handy’s Happiness Guarantee.
“At Walmart, we are tirelessly searching for new and creative ways to improve the everyday lives of our customers by providing great experiences that extend from our stores into their homes,” said Daniel Eckert, senior vice president, Walmart Services and Digital Acceleration, in a statement. “Our program with Handy enables us to eliminate the friction of installation and assembly, and offer customers a convenient, delightful experience from start to finish. We know Handy’s services are going to be a big help to our busy customers.”
In addition to competing with Amazon, IKEA, and other retailers offering home installation through various partners, Handy also competes with other home services providers, like Thumbtack or HomeAdvisor. The introduction of its service to Walmart’s heavily trafficked retailed stores will now give it a leg up in acquiring new customers, and may then see those customers return for other work in the future after becoming aware that Handy exists.
Handy has has a similar deal with Wayfair to help online shoppers book assembly at checkout.
Meanwhile, Walmart benefits by being able to offer customers another means of booking home assembly and installation help, in addition to its existing partnership with Porch.com for online purchases.
Handy is not yet available in 2,000 Walmart stores as of today. Instead, it started off with a test in Atlanta that’s now grown to 25 stores. It will expand to reach 2,000 additional stores by next month, the retailer says. Walmart has 5,000 U.S. stores in total, so this is not a full rollout across the U.S., but will serve customers in 45 states where Handy is available.
