I remember the first time I walked into an IKEA store. I was amazed by the vast offering, but a bit annoyed by its layout — how it forces you to walk through the whole store and look at everything.
I was annoyed only for one reason — I didn’t have time for it, as this was supposed to be just a short stop on the way to somewhere else. Rushing through an IKEA store is no fun, because there are so many nicely designed items that grab your attention, and you want to check them out without time pressure.
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This just illustrates how remarkable IKEA’s marketing strategy really is.
A neuromarketer and author of “The Buying Brain,” Dr. A.K. Pradeep explains this “Ikea phenomenon” by explaining how its stores appeal to the subconscious mind, which is the primary driver of decision-making, writes CNBC.
“Furniture is set up in its natural environment. Every single thing there is contextually in position. The brain perceives it, understands its inherent value, and therefore desires it,” Pradeep said.
Marketing isn’t everything, naturally. IKEA wouldn’t be as popular if its offerings were no good. However, the furniture giant is praised for affordable, easy-to-assemble products and Scandinavian aesthetic of simple, minimalist design.
Now the Swedish home goods powerhouse is trying to position itself in the U.S. and rival big names such as Ashley HomeStore or Target.
IKEA opens new locations across the U.S.
Image source: Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
IKEA opens Plan and Order point store in Oregon
Over the past few years, IKEA expanded across multiple states, and it currently has 51 retail locations across the U.S. and 375 IKEA stores in 30 countries.
On June 4, the company opened a Plan and Order point store in Beaverton, Oregon, located at Progress Ridge Town Square at 12305 SW Horizon Blvd.
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This new format store is the second IKEA location in the Portland metro area.
What is a Plan and Order point store?
IKEA’s new concept consists of smaller stores dedicated to kitchen, bedroom, and living room planning, where customers can get home furnishing advice to help them design their space.
Customers can book an appointment with IKEA’s expert planning specialists or use in-store self-service tools to design their own solutions.
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As the name suggests, Plan and Order point stores have no items to buy in-store and take home on the same day, but purchases made there can be home delivered or collected for free from one of the stores or pick-up points.
IKEA’s big bet on the United States
This year, the retail mammoth already opened five locations in the U.S., and it plans six more by the end of the year. What’s more, two additional locations are planned for 2026.
It all started in 2023, when the company confirmed it would invest $2.2 billion to expand across the U.S. over the next three years by opening new stores and enhancing its fulfillment network. This was the biggest investment in almost 40 years since IKEA’s first store opened in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, writes TheStreet’s Fernanda Tronco.
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“The U.S. is one of our most important markets, and we see endless opportunities to grow there and get closer to the many Americans with affordable products and services,” IKEA Head Retail at Ingka Group, Tolga Öncü, said at the time. “More than ever before, we want to increase the density of our presence in the U.S., ramp up our fulfillment capacities and make our offer even more relevant to local customers’ needs and dreams,” he added.
As the globally recognized furniture brand makes its way across the country, it will be interesting to see how its competitors respond. In any case, the bigger the offering, the better for consumers.
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