IKEA is often associated with their famous meatballs or funny product names, like the Groggy corkscrew. However, one thing the Swedish brand has not been associated with is stellar customer experience, especially in e-commerce. However, the Covid pandemic struck a hard blow to the furniture retailer. Fortunately, a lesson was learned, and the brand is now working on becoming more accessible by building new planning studios and introducing mobile pick up points.
During the Covid pandemic, IKEA customers often complained about goods being sold out and delivery services being unavailable. Numbers were clearly showing that the Swedish retailer needed to up its e-commerce game. However, the crisis made the company stronger: apart from four existing stores, three new formats were introduced, making the company present in more cities than just Prague, Brno, and Ostrava. “In 2020, we opened our first planning studio in Chodov, and more will soon follow in other cities like České Budějovice. For example, customers can also use permanent Pick up points in cities like Hradec Králové or Pilsen, while Mobile pick up points are now available, for example, in the Sokolov region,” says Country Communications Manager František Šašek to illustrate what’s new in the company’s logistics.
„Customers appreciate the work we put into making ourselves more available. Currently, we run 22 customer meeting points: four IKEA stores, planning studios, brick-and-mortar pick up points and mobile pick up points that allow customers to collect their goods right off the truck. This way, people from Sokolov don’t need to drive to Prague to buy furniture anymore. They can simply place an order online and see a schedule of upcoming pick up times right in Sokolov.“František Šašek, Country Communications Manager, IKEA
It was more than e-commerce improvements that launched IKEA into the top 10 of 2022 – František Šašek says the company now pays attention to all stages of customer journey – starting with determining customer’s needs using Google AdWords, Google Trends, questionnaires, and regular feedback from the frontline employees. “Currently, we are on a mission to help customers save money on energy bills and show them that even little things can help – like buying a carpet, replacing light bulbs with LED lights or installing the Åbäcken mist nozzle on your taps.”
IKEA monitors a total of six customer experience categories of metrics, like how satisfied the customers are with the staff, delivery, and assembly of goods, or their digital journey. In total, IKEA uses around 50 KPIs: “We use over a dozen metrics just to evaluate our call centre, like the time a customer has to wait before being connected to an operator,” says the manager. Together, they add up to the most important number: a Happy Customer Score.
The company also pays attention to real-time metrics, like the number of people in their stores, website metrics, and data on online shopping. Monitoring of how full the stores were played a key role during the Covid pandemic – not only did it allow the company to adhere to customers-per-square-meter regulations, it also allowed customers to check how full the stores were on IKEA’s website and see whether now was a good time to go shopping. The company also uses different methods to monitor customers’ movement in stores. “In every sector, it’s the employees who are the best at keeping track of the customers, so we continuously use what they tell us. We also use a CCTV system to make predictions – like when a full parking garage will turn into an influx of customers at the checkout. We also analyse the data obtained from finished purchases. Let’s say someone bought some glasses and a tray, but no plates. Why? Perhaps they couldn’t find them? We should probably make them easier to locate within the section,” explains František.
In the 1950s, IKEA’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad, noticed that customers vanished from the stores at certain times of day. So, he took to the parking lot, asking why they were leaving. The answer? They were hungry! And so, the famous IKEA restaurants were born – a feature that, according to František Šašek, has the biggest impact on the overall shopping experience. “Our restaurants actually beat our furniture stores by 3─4% in terms of number of customers. That’s because our stores are always located in large shopping areas, which means that workers from other stores often visit our restaurants for lunch or dinner.”
Småland, the children’s playrooms, or the IKEA app that customers can use to scan and pay for their goods instead of waiting at a checkout line play an important role as well. And at the end of 2022, the app and the website got a new feature: augmented reality that lets customers see how a piece of furniture would look at their own homes.
IKEA offers a generous 365-day return policy – in case you change your mind – that allows you to return any undamaged goods with proof of purchase. The condition of each piece is assessed individually, but František says the verdict is usually rather forgiving: “One small scratch is not something to worry about. In case of more visible damage, you may be offered a partial refund, and if your item shows some wear and tear after years of use, we will buy it back through our circular hub where all returned and bought back pieces go.”
A good night’s sleep means a good day – which is why IKEA came up with their “love it or exchange it” policy that allows customers to test a mattress for 90 days. Don’t like it? Simply return it, without any additional fees.
The brand has been a loud voice in promoting sustainability for years now, pledging to become climate-positive by 2030 – and the new guaranteed buy back service is perfectly in line with that commitment: “This year, we started putting labels on children’s furniture showing the item’s buyback price after different periods of time – months and years. Currently, it’s children’s furniture only, but we are looking for other categories of items where this approach could make sense,” says František Šašek.
In Sweden, a completely independent department is in charge of designing new products in line with the principles of “democratic design”: “Our design stands upon five pillars. We always start with the price: it must be affordable. Pillars of quality, sustainability, function, and form are all equally important, with an acceptable minimum determined for each of them,” František explains. There are also different levels of products from a price or quality standpoint to choose from, with the cheapest options always marked with a big yellow price tag.