Why IKEA Works

by Adrian How

Have you ever wondered what makes customers flock to IKEA to purchase household items instead of visiting the local furniture stores better known as ‘kedai perabot’? It’s obvious that the local furniture stores can offer better deals and allow you to bargain. Many of the local furniture stores offer free assembly and delivery for large items whilst IKEA charges for these services. From a convenience perspective, the geographical likelihood of one living close to a local furniture store is higher than that of being closer to IKEA.

So what makes IKEA work?

IKEA sells you a lifestyle - people don’t just want products these days, they want a lifestyle and an ecosystem to which they can comfortably identify and live in. IKEA is amazing in this area, showcasing how an assembly of products can cater to spaces large and small. If you are the sort that cannot envision the end state of a space, IKEA is the place to go to get ideas.

Organization – IKEA’s labeling, tagging and pick-up system is simply top notch. If there’s something that catches your fancy at the display floor, just take down the label details and it’ll tell you exactly which rack and aisle to pick up the product from. Customers can also equip themselves with the provided tape measures, catalogues, pencils and paper, which really just adds to a manageable shopping experience

Knowledgeable staff – personnel retention rate in IKEA is high in case you didn’t know. Employees take amazing pride working for this Swedish giant and many of them are well trained and come across as knowledgeable when you need help. I’ve personally gone to IKEA loads of times and each time I required help, I was always guided accurately by personable staff.

End-to-end experience – IKEA pays attention to the shopper’s experience. Smaland is a place you can send your children off to play whilst you shop; the cafeteria offers a place for respite and to snack in between; you never need to look far for a washroom; there are always plenty of stalls to pick up a catalogue, pencil, paper, tape measure, shopping bags.

They’ve obviously given every detail a lot of thought. Heck, they even made the cafeteria food delicious. In fact, I’m heading over there now for some Swedish meatballs.