A smart move of IKEA
Have you ever got lost in IKEA stores?
My answer is yes. I was confused why I got lost almost every time when I was a kid, but I enjoyed get lost in different types of model home. Now, I know that is exactly what the owner expected.
IKEA stores designed as a maze in order to make the consumers stay in the store as long as they can. The reason for that is disorientated customer feels compelled to pick up a few extra impulse purchases. If the consumer doesn’t want to get lost, they should follow the path guide. However, if you look at the path guide, it will lead you through almost every sales areas before meet the casher. A majority of consumers will be attracted by the cheap and fashionable products during the path and buy something they don’t expected before. That is the strategy, which IKEA uses to create 60% impulsivity consumption.
However, does this smart strategy – make your store a maze works for other types of store? Imagine that if a convenience store designed as a maze, what will happen? Most likely drives customers crazy. Nevertheless, nobody can deny that this strategy perfectly works for IKEA because its feature.
By thinking of the consumer behavior, people go to IKEA buying stuff for their home; therefore, they would like to stay for long time in the store and easily make unconscious purchasing. But when people go to a convenience store, they usually have clear list on their mind and want to get them as soon as possible.
Sometime a “good” business strategy not always good, it depends on the combined work between many part in the market, such as target consumers and the feature of the store.