What is it about Ikea that shoppers can't get enough of?

Thursday, 2 December 2021

News of Ikea’s impending arrival in New Zealand has sent devotees of the Swedish furniture giant into a spin.

On Tuesday, Ikea New Zealand signed a deal to buy 3.2 hectares of land at Auckland’s Sylvia Park shopping mall, more than a decade after the idea of a New Zealand store was first floated.

The announcement was met with jubilation on the Bring Ikea to NZ Facebook page, which was set up in 2010 and has amassed more than 20,000 followers.

But New Zealanders are not alone in their obsession with the Scandanavian furniture chain.

Ikea in the UK has the most expensive home office furniture and accessories compared to nine other countries in a recent survey.

* Ikea to open in New Zealand with multiple physical and digital stores

* Ikea: All the promises don't mean a thing without action

Ikea fans from the US states of Louisiana, Nebraska and Oklahoma run similar pages and when UK stores reopened after lockdown, thousands of shoppers queued to get inside, the BBC reported.

So what is it about Ikea that drives people to start online campaigns and queue for hours?

The prices

Ikea products are significantly cheaper - in many cases 50 per cent less - than those sold by their competitors.

At Ikea, you can buy a three-seater fabric sofa for about $AU550 ($NZ562). A similar style from another big box retailer like Freedom Furniture will set you back closer to $1100.

But does cheaper mean lesser quality? Not necessarily.

Ikea has a few tricks up its sleeve to keep prices down, including the way its products are designed.

Visiting an Ikea store is just as much about the experience, which may or may not include a meal of Swedish meatballs.

Instead of crafting a piece and then assigning a price, Ikea does things backwards, deciding what it wants to charge for an item before it is made.

This means designers and manufacturers can work together to make sure the finished product fits the price, rather than coming up with something that’s unavoidably more expensive.

The flat-pack method of selling and shipping also helps Ikea cut storage and transport costs and saves customers the sting of delivery fees.

The experience (and the meatballs)

Ikea stores are usually located away from commercial or residential areas – Sydney’s three stores are located near the airport and the Olympic park, and in the northwest of the city – meaning shoppers are more likely to make a day of it.

With an average store size of more than 35,000 square meters (the equivalent of 3.5 rugby fields), there’s plenty of furniture, houseplants, decor and accessories to keep even the most easily bored browser entertained.

All that walking is likely to work up an appetite and Ikea has that covered, too, offering customers a chance to refuel without leaving the building or breaking the bank.

Ikea’s food halls are a key part of the experience – statistics show about a third of customers visit the stores just to eat – and racked up US$1.6 billion ($NZ2.3b) in sales in 2016, according to Forbes.

Aussie shoppers can pick up a plate of Ikea’s famous Swedish meatballs – a billion of which are sold each year – with creamy sauce, mashed potatoes and peas for just $8.

Socially distanced shoppers queue to enter an Ikea in Warrington, United Kingdom, at the end of lockdown in 2020.

Not in the mood for red meat? A seafood plate with a hoki fillet, Alaskan pollock bites, prawn cutlets and chips will set you back $13.

The cheap eats are all part of the company’s goal to offer the lowest priced meals within 50 kilometres, even if that means selling at a loss.

Although that might seem like bad business, Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad knew customers with full bellies would stay longer and were more likely to spend up large on furniture.

The modern marketing

Ikea knows its audience and how to reach them.

The company uses social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter to peddle its wares to content-craving customers.

By posting a steady stream of achievable interior “inspo”, Ikea keeps customers thinking about what they might want to buy next.

They’re also fans of YouTube, where they post “How To Build” videos, potentially relationship-saving clips for couples not cut out for the flat pack assembly experience.

The 90-day price protection

How often have you bought a product only to find it at a reduced price in the same store days or weeks later?

If an item bought at Ikea goes on sale within 90 days of your purchase, it will refund the difference.

The sustainability committment

Ikea has committed to abolishing single-use plastics across the business by 2030, and has introduced a range of sustainable materials to its manufacturing.

Many of its kitset kitchens come with cupboard and drawer fronts made with recycled plastic bottles.

Recycled glass, wood and wool also make appearances across its products and the push towards sustainability continues in the food hall, where plant-based options are available and plates, cups and bowls are free of cadmium and lead.