The move means IKEA's customers may soon be able to buy its flat-pack furniture and other home furnishings through the likes of Amazon, which has said it plans to venture into furniture, or Chinese rival Alibaba.

Inter IKEA Group Chief Executive Torbjorn Loof said in an interview the plan is to start testing in 2018.

"On digital platforms, we only sell our products through our own website, and there we also see that the competitive landscape is changing," Loof said.

Loof would not be drawn on which companies he had in mind to sell through and said no contracts have yet been signed.

"I leave unsaid on which (platforms), but we will test and pilot, to see 'what does this mean, what does digital shopping look like in future and what do digital shopping centers mean?'" he said.

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