Have you been to IKEA? How long has it been since you visited IKEA? Affected by factors such as the new crown epidemic and online e-commerce, IKEA in 2022 seems to be no longer the first choice for buying furniture and supplies, but has become an ordinary mall where "eating is ta

Have you been to IKEA? How long has it been since you visited IKEA?

Due to factors such as the new crown epidemic and online e-commerce, IKEA in 2022 seems to be no longer the first choice for buying furniture and supplies, but has become an ordinary mall where "eating is tasteless and giving up is a pity".

In April this year, IKEA closed its offline stores in Guiyang, which was the first time IKEA has closed its store in 24 years since it entered the Chinese market.

In July this year, IKEA closed its offline store in Yangpu, Shanghai, just over two years after the store opened for the first time. The

brand has been established for nearly 80 years and has been in China for 24 years. It has closed two offline stores in a year. What happened to IKEA, a world-renowned furniture retailer?

1. IKEA China, praise continues to be

IKEA has always been popular among Chinese consumers. 's product has good quality, many types, suitable prices, and strong design. and other tags are firmly imprinted on its brand characteristics.

On major social platforms, many consumers praise IKEA products.

For example, a three-yuan mug is designed with cleaning details in mind in the design of the cup body, and will not cause problems such as accumulation of water and odor.

Some consumers are not satisfied with the mattress bulge and call IKEA, and the official after-sales service will be replaced with it for free.

There are also many bloggers who share cheap goods they bought at IKEA.

Entering IKEA stores, in most cases, consumers can buy products above the passing line without much difficulty. Coupled with the brand guaranteed after-sales service, the shopping experience is comfortable and pleasant.

It can be said that IKEA has implemented the corporate business philosophy of "providing a wide variety of beautiful and practical household goods that ordinary people can afford", and its success around the world is also attributed to .

In addition to the excellent quality of the product itself, the high-quality experience of IKEA offline stores is also impressive.

Usually, IKEA has a restaurant in offline stores to meet consumers' dietary needs with unique Nordic cuisine and best-selling cuisines around the world. Data shows that catering revenue accounts for more than 11% of IKEA's total sales in China.

For customers who have a desire to consume but do not consider generating consumption, IKEA also welcomes it. On a social platform, the topic of "how to take photos in IKEA" has reached 80,000 discussions, which has caused a long-lasting and heated discussion.

2. Quality control is worrying, cost-effectiveness disappears, IKEA is controversial

However, IKEA seems to have changed.

is not so much about it changing, but it is better for a long time. Some people love it, while others disagree.

What IKEA is most criticized is its quality control and cost-effectiveness at the time of good and bad.

data shows that since 2016, IKEA has recalled more than ten products, including cloaks, bicycles, drawers, travel cups, dining tables, , etc. In the three years from 2019 to 2021, the number of recalled products was 22,000, 134,200, and 173,600 respectively.

For example, in April this year, IKEA announced the recall of 1,491 "METALLISK Italian Coffee Pot" Italian Coffee Pot, due to possible swelling.

Last August, IKEA was fined more than 1.72 million yuan by the Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau for falsely promoting a curtain that can purify air (price 299 yuan).

For families with average economic strength, IKEA's home products are of average quality and expensive, and "not cost-effective".

For families who can afford IKEA, the materials and design of IKEA’s home products do not meet the psychological standards, and the prices are not cheap. "It is better to buy big-name fine products." The controversy over the product itself is not included, and the most critical product price is also increasing. IKEA said this year that due to the increasing cost of transportation and raw materials, the company will raise the price by an average of 9% in various markets.

On social platforms, many consumers have shown the price increase trend of popular products, such as the originally popular Malm Four-Taoth Trophy increased from 599 yuan to 899 yuan.When the price of popular products increases, whether the quality of products that originally match their prices can be recognized by consumers will greatly affect consumers' purchasing decisions.

In the statement of closing a Guiyang store, IKEA mentioned that a variety of uncertainties, including the new crown epidemic, continue to affect today, IKEA is also in the process.

However, the change in the external factors of the new crown epidemic is not the fundamental reason for IKEA's crisis. The lack of the product itself and the mismatch between the price may be an important factor for consumers to no longer consider IKEA.

3. Two changes of IKEA

IKEA chose to change, but their first move was unexpected.

In September this year, netizens on multiple social platforms revealed that IKEA banned the shooting of Internet celebrity photos in the locker area. media reported that a blogger was stopped by security guards as soon as he entered the locker area, saying that the filming was no longer allowed here. In the end, I had to take two photos in the public pickup area and leave angrily.

check-in crowds coming to IKEA can increase the traffic of the store and create a lively shopping atmosphere; after taking photos, some check-in crowds will also have a desire to consume, driving the growth of store sales; even if direct consumption is not generated, the IKEA check-in photos shared on social media can also increase the awareness of brand .

However, after careful consideration, IKEA refused to take photos and banned the shooting of Internet celebrity photos in the locker area.

Why give up high-quality traffic that can be spread on social platforms? The fundamental reason for

is that now has gathered a large number of non-customer customers, forming a unique phenomenon of "people have no customers".

For example, a customer who actually uses a locker reported that he wanted to open the cabinet to get things, but was blocked by the person who took the photo. Moreover, in order to find angles and make shapes, they often stay for a long time and waste time.

There are also people who "get the air conditioner" in the mall who interfere with consumers who really want to buy furniture, which greatly affects the consumption experience. Some netizens said: "Many people no longer regard IKEA as a place to buy furniture, but instead shoot free shots for the Internet celebrity check-in points all day, and there are very few people who really consume furniture."

There is another voice that believes that IKEA's products "wealthy people look down on them, and those who don't have money can't afford them". The embarrassing product positioning also makes the consumer group position unclear. Another change in

is to actively digitalize and lay out online tracks.

In 2018, IKEA launched China's online mall service.

In 2019, IKEA announced that it would invest 10 billion yuan to launch the "Future +" local development strategy, and set up a separate digital innovation center for three aspects: channel expansion, digital experience and home life expert services.

In March 2021, IKEA launched the WeChat mini program; in May, IKEA Tmall flagship store expanded its coverage, expanding from the previous Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Anhui regions to 301 cities and regions.

In September 2022, IKEA announced a new additional investment plan, announcing that it would invest 5.3 billion yuan in 2023 to invest in the Chinese market, mainly to continuously consolidate and expand channels and digital fields; through more relevant products and solutions; by enhancing the omni-channel integration experience.

Previously, when IKEA closed its offline stores in Guiyang, it said that closing Guiyang offline stores is a regular operational measure. When Guiyang's online sales far exceeds the estimated consumption, in order to save costs, closed offline and focused on online services is part of IKEA's business transformation and development.

However, it should be considered that if IKEA hopes to make efforts online, the advantage of offline stores being "visible and tangible" is gone, will the original IKEA offline users really consider purchasing IKEA products online? There are countless furniture brands that are cost-effective online than IKEA. Can I really win the favor of online users and gain growth?

The future is still unknown. The good news is that the Chinese furniture market is still growing.

iMedia Consulting data shows that in 2021, the global home furnishing market size was US$496.2 billion, with a year-on-year growth rate of 9.7%. It is expected that in the next four years, the global home furnishing market size will continue to grow, and its growth rate will remain at around 3%.

The "2021 Asian Furniture Outlook Report" released by the China Furniture Association shows that the global furniture output value is expected to exceed US$500 billion in 2021, a positive year-on-year growth, exceeding the pre-epidemic level. Among them, China, the United States, Germany and Italy rank among the top in the world in furniture output value.

For IKEA, whether it can operate the online business model is crucial to its corporate development.