How Ikea Has Become A Successful E-Commerce Company

IKEA is a Swedish brand which was founded on 28th July, 1943 and the name IKEA is based on the name of the founder of the company Ingvar Kamprad. The E and A stands for the Eltmartyd, the farm in which he had grown up and Agunnaryd is a nearby village. IKEA was started as a furniture selling company in the year 1948 and eventually after years IKEA’s first home furnishing catalogue was published in 1950. It was in the year 1953 where IKEA opened their first showroom in Älmhult and they came with a flat pack furniture which is a new type of furniture in Sweden but the concept of assembling is different, the furniture is easy to assemble and it is done by the customer himself. 

In the year 1960 onwards IKEA switched its product range from furniture to other areas that they set up their restaurants and over the years they have opened more stores and restaurants across the world. In 1965 IKEA had opened its largest furniture store in North Europe but after 5 years there was a fire outbreak which turned to be a turning point for the brand. They resumed their services a year later and they came out with a self service area where most of the products were there for the customers to purchase. The year 1990 to 2015 was a turning point where IKEA came out with new campaigns and products like the “Sow the seed” campaign in Malaysia, they came out with their own LED lights and the UPPLEVA TV. 

IKEA changed its gears to the E-commerce sector. They set up their online store worldwide in 2016 and till date they have been selling more than 1000 products online worldwide. Next let us have a look at the things that have made the IKEA, a successful ecommerce company :- 

 1. The Online Bedroom Design –

IKEA has come out with a new innovative artificial way of designing our homes that is through the help of VR technology. This is a technology which no brand has with them apart from IKEA. The customer has to be ready with the room measurements and they have to design the room as per their choices with the help of a representative. It is quite a unique technique.

2. Expansion –

IKEA which first used to sell furniture on their website has also set up their online restaurant menu and they are also known for their Swedish cuisine like the meatballs which is mouth watering for the customers. They also sell all the things apart from furniture like lamps, kitchenware and much more. The vision of IKEA is “To create a better everyday life for the many people.” This vision shows how IKEA wants to expand itself in almost all the fields worldwide.

3. The Covid-19 Pandemic –

The Covid pandemic had impacted all the brands badly and some brands had to lay off their employees. IKEA had to shut down its offline stores due to the pandemic and as the founder says “Every situation makes us better”. IKEA came out with a new approach of focusing more on the online platform than the offline stores. The sales of IKEA in the ecommerce sector during the pandemic soared to new heights. Before the pandemic the online sale was 12% but then during the pandemic the sale went upto 70% from online. 30% of the sale came from India, people were turning their homes into offices during the pandemic.

4. The Pricing Strategy –

The pricing strategy of IKEA is done in such a way that it penetrates the market by setting the prices low. I would like to ask you all that “Have you heard of a sofa sold for around ₹20,000? Shocking, right?” The best time to buy is during the festival season like the Independence Day sale, Diwali sale, New year sale etc.. Apart from the product pricing IKEA has a very low profit margin while selling their products and due to their ready to assemble furniture their logistics costs are less.

5. Invested in Content Marketing –

IKEA has maintained a regular connection with its customers through the interactive content which it has produced over the years. They have been doing regular postings on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest etc. to keep the customer informed and they answer customers queries as soon as possible. They have come with various advertisement campaigns like a home tour video on YouTube.

IKEA is one of the most successful ecommerce companies which has expanded to many areas till now. I hope this journey of IKEA has given you some insights on how it has progressed over the years with many new unique and innovative ways that no other competitor might have thought till now.  To read more blogs about digital marketing, you can visit our blog  page at :- https://skillwise.pro/agency/blog/