IKEA: Sustainability Challenge
June 5th 2020
Case given:
IKEA asked us to pitch a design idea for the IKEA Store/customer meeting point of the future, incorporating digital technologies and circular sustainable design to better meet customer needs and become accessible to the many.
The core problem we identified:
Consumer tastes, especially when it comes to retail are rapidly evolving. Incumbents in the ecommerce space are attracting the attention of a younger, more urban audience, and driving them away from the big blue IKEA box stores. With these stores being large in size and filled with hundreds, if not thousands of pieces of furniture, urbanites are increasingly overwhelmed with choice.
Our solution:
Where are IKEA Visualization Studios located?
Visualization Studios are located in downtown areas in Canada such as Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, making them more accessible to younger audiences and offering them a unique and customizable experience that is true to the company’s brand and mission.
What makes them special?
The IKEA Visualization Studio is a makerspace, a casual, fun and enriching design experience for the modern consumer. Inside every Visualization Studio customers will have the chance to sit down at one of many tables to personalize furniture by creating custom color schemes, variations and design combinations using tablets.
Every month ten pieces of sustainably made furniture will be featured at the store and available to customize. These interchangeable furniture pieces can be combined into an infinite variation of designs, in order to construct and assemble the piece that works best for the customer. By letting consumers order products before they are made, IKEA is able to ensure all products are sold and no resources such as energy and materials are being wasted. Plus, limited items reduce decision fatigue for the consumer.
However, the biggest draw for customers is the fact that we will have designed the entire store to be a natural extension of the IKEA app. This concept of digital fluidity means that we will be utilizing the power of virtual reality to allow customers to visualize how furniture will look in a blank canvas of their choosing. Tablets, coupled with the VR headsets will be used to bring people’s ideas to life. Customers will have the option to mix and match the featured modular pieces using their VR headset, and place them in a replica of their room using constraints they have defined on the tablet. Furthermore, uninterrupted eye-level screens will create an immersive thread around the entire store and show user’s creations in real-time.
This playful, creative atmosphere will increase foot traffic at the location, and provide a unique experience for the user. Customers will also have the option of working with design consultants to polish their ideas. Once they are done, they can use the same tablets to order their customized pieces and have them shipped to their home.
The Makerspace Level. Note how the VR displays envelope the showroom, inviting customers to join in.
The Food Bar Level. Engaging with the act of creation comes into play in the food area as well.
How does this align with IKEA as a company?
All items available at the store have a collection based approach (limited items available each month, catered differently to each urban community). Each monthly collection will be inspired by the work of a local artist. This will engage the local communities and bring them closer to the urban, artistic culture. Providing a hands-on experience for our urban audience is vital for their retention. That's why we'll host design competitions. The winning designs will be voted on by the community and introduced in our big box stores. This will increase the visibility of community created designs and IKEA’s sustainable initiatives.
What about IKEA’S Swedish meatballs?
IKEA's customers are innovators. They love new things. That’s why we will introduce the IKEA Bar concept - a trendy food bar with the tagline ‘Swedish & Sustainable’, that will put a modern spin on the classic Swedish dishes that IKEA is known for. Our small selection of dishes will be made by local chefs, that will forage for ingredients in and around the urban areas surrounding the IKEA Visualization Studio, inspired by the work of Noma’s Rene Redzepi. This open-concept bar merges people’s fascination with food and design, allowing them to enjoy a great culinary experience while indulging in the act of creation.
How does the concept promote sustainability?
The highly customized makerspace elements and the Bar concept in the Visualization Studio are great examples of the circular design philosophy that IKEA is championing. It reduces the product and food waste, and brings the digital experience to the customer, making them more engaged with the brand as a whole. This Visualization Studio concept will inspire countless retail businesses to take a deep look at themselves, and change themselves for the better. IKEA can truly show that innovation doesn’t require compromising either People, Planet, or Profits.