The IKEA Shopping Experience

Furniture World Magazine

Shopping at IKEA is a unique and distinctive experience. Shoppers are encouraged to make themselves at home and are provided with the tools and resources for a successful shopping expedition. IKEA is family friendly ... complimentary strollers, high chairs, bottle warming and a Baby Care room for nursing and changing are available. Additionally, IKEA stores feature a "Ballroom," where children can play in a supervised environment while parents shop. Armed with an IKEA catalog, tape measure, notepad, pencil and an oversized shopping bag, customers can browse or lounge in numerous real-life furniture settings that comprise the IKEA showroom. Sales people are available to answer questions and place orders for larger items. Everything else can be picked up in the Self-Serve Warehouse, where items are clearly catalogued and easy to find. IKEA's Marketplace houses accessories and decorative items designed to complement IKEA furnishings in color and style. Thousands of items are organized into 14 shops: Tableware, Cook Shop, Home Accents, Bed Linens, Rugs, Window Treatments, Fabrics, Children's IKEA, Bath Shop, Home Organization, Prints & Frames, Pots & Plants, Lighting, and Wicker & Rattan. When hunger strikes, the IKEA Restaurant & Café serves Swedish specialties such as meatballs, and even baby food for infants. Pastry and aromatic Swedish coffee are popular fare for a shopping break, too. Additionally, for those who wish to take a little Swedish culture home, IKEA's Swede Shop sells jams, cookies, crackers, candy, chocolate, cheeses, lingonberries, salmon, herring and a wide variety of other specialty items.   A Social Ambition ... A Sound Basis For Business IKEA is an example of how an admirable social ambition -- to be on the side of the majority of people -- can be successfully translated into a sound and successful business. Throughout IKEA's development, Ingvar Kamprad has encouraged his co-workers to honor the values and fellowship which have helped build the company. His directive: "Encourage and enthuse, dare to question and have the energy to change and rejuvenate. Set a good example. Keep the door open for new talent. Find efficient cost-chasers. Be on our guard against signs of sluggishness, weariness and saturation ... For us, standing still is just as bad as going backwards."