Question

IKEA is also very "IKEA-centric." For example, the IKEA store itself will be laid out as a maze that requires customers to walk through every department before they reach the checkout stations. This forced path can seem constraining to their customers who naturally are more free spirited than the IKEA management model. What are the negatives of the ikea way?

Answer 1

IKEA is one of the largest mass producing furniture companies across the globe which sells its products in the United States and beyond. It has gained great importance for people looking to buy cheap furniture as the company offers competitive pricing and all alternatives are easily available under one roof for the customers.

That said, over the years, to enable repeat purchase by the customers and to keep identical products close to one another, the company seems to be making higher profit margins than other brands. The maze strategy aims at creating a floor in which the customers visits every section prior to them being able to make payment for the product they purchase.

The rationale behind this strategy as stated by the company is the fact that customers end up purchasing more goods and services than they otherwise would, and are more aware of the offerings even if they decided to purchase the product at a later stage.

This has though, worked for the company in increasing its profits, yet there may be some problems which are as highlighted.

Negatives of the IKEA Strategy:-

The prime negative of the IKEA strategy is that it pushes its products to the customers instead of the customers being willing to purchase the product themselves. This is done by ensuring that the customer visits each section as a mandate because of the maze strategy.

Over the years, customers have gained knowledge about the products they want to purchase and do deep research before arriving at a conclusive buying decision.

The strategy thus does not apply for consumers who have gained knowledge. They would not make a repeat purchase decision just because the products are aligned a specific way.

Instead, customers get irritated because they need to visit each section. The need of the hour is to enable people to be able to make their transactions quickly so that they can save on time and energy. Thus, the maze structure is becoming a problem for those who are selective and do not want to spend unnecessary time looking at products they do not require.

Further, the internet has offered people an alternative way of purchasing cheap furniture from the house itself without having to go through the trouble of a maze like store which people now believe that wastes their time.

Conclusion:-

With, the market rapidly changing, it is necessary for IKEA to look at other changes to be made instead of sticking to the Maze Like structure which forces customers to view all their products. Customers are becoming increasingly knowledgeable and do a lot of research before purchasing their products. They also have exposure to purchase the products online and a push strategy is no longer going to give any advantage to the company in a changing and dynamic world respectively.

Please feel free to ask your doubts in the comments section if any.