IKEA

I spent a lot of time at Ikea over the past couple weeks (well more than usual) because I moved into a new house. Although I love their products and prices and give them kudos for their marketing success, a few things about the company frustrate and confuse me.

• Store layout

I understand the logistics behind forcing customers to walk through the entire store in order to get to the check-out, however I think some aspects of the physical layout of IKEA may hurt their sales. When I see something I like on display or a group of items that are arranged together, I would love to be able to pick them up right then and there. Instead, they make you write down what you want and then get it all at the end.
Disadvantages:
1. I replace the original item I had liked with something that I like even more. If the item was already in my cart or bag before I saw the second item, I may have just gotten both.
2. Forget what an item that I wrote down actually is or decide I don’t want/need it. IKEA’s set up gives customers a lot of time to think before paying for their items. This greatly reduces impulse buying.
3. Missing information. If you forget to write down something about the item that you want (color, location) you might not be about to find it once in the warehouse area. In this situation, I would simply leave without it due to wasting time.
4. Room details. Sometimes there are particular accessories that I like in a display room. If the products were available alongside the display, I would probably just purchase everything that matches. But by the time I make my way to pick up the items, I often forget about some of the smaller things that I had planned to purchase.

• Product information

After bringing home something you buy from IKEA, don’t expect the assembly instructions to be any help. They are just vague pictures, with no descriptions or words, and you might not even know if you got all of the contents that are supposed to be included in the package. I think this deters customers away from IKEA, especially ones who aren’t very handy. If you can’t put it together, you will take it back to the store and be reluctant to buy anything else. Plus, their company takes a hit with every return.