IKEA Marketing Strategy - An Inspiring Finding from the Case Studies

History and Growth of IKEA

History: Since 1943

IKEA was started by a 17-year-old carpenter Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, Sweden. It is an organization that is known for its cheap products and unique designs.

It started off as a company that sold pens, wallets, and jewelleries with the concept of meeting consumers demands at the most affordable prices.

After five years into the business, IKEA brought in the furniture. Since then, furniture has been their primary focus for the business.

IKEA has always tried to better the lives of people. It is a furniture company that produces ready-to-assemble furniture that gives the customers a novel experience of building their furniture by themselves.

 

IKEA’s Growth in Market

• From recent studies IKEA retail sales reached 44.6 billion euros last year.
• IKEA benefited after pandemic, as the inflation and supply chain issues impacted the market and it led to rising costs of products.
• Though sales grew in money, but the sales quantity was not nearly enough.
• 38 new IKEA sales locations opened around the world in 2022.

Overall, IKEA welcomed 822 million visitors in 2022 compared to 775 million in 2021. Store sales grew mainly in Europe, where 2021 lockdowns were most severe. At the same time, online sales were 10% lower compared to 2021. IKEA online channels hosted 4.3 billion visitors, down from 5 billion the previous year.

In 2022, new IKEA sales locations were opened throughout the world.

In general, in 2022, IKEA received 822 million visitors as compared to 775 million in 2021. The sales in the stores increased primarily in Europe, where lockdowns were the most harsh in 2021. Meanwhile, online sales had decreased by 10 percent in comparison with 2021. The IKEA online channels had 4.3 billion visitors compared to 5 billion the previous year.

 

What is the Ikea's marketing strategy?

IKEA marketing strategy is a complex process that was carefully planned to sell its products and services. It involves a very broad scope of activities, including product development, pricing, promotion, and distribution. The marketing strategy of IKEA is well-known because it focuses on the low cost, sustainability, and the original combination of Scandinavian design models.

Fundamentally, the IKEA marketing strategy is meant to provide the customers with not only furniture but also comfort and sustainability of living. This customer-centric orientation preconditions our discussion of how IKEA is able to keep its customers at the core of all its activities.

To see why IKEA is an excellent execution company, one may examine its project management strategy.

To understand how IKEA excels in execution, you can explore its project management approach. 

Engaging and Consistent brand image (With a creative focus)

A major strength of the brand strategy of IKEA is that it turns the ordinary everyday life into a creative and personal experience. IKEA has always tried to differentiate its brand names from other brand objectives. This is why it is not just a brand that sells furniture.

 The company has always positioned the brand as a partner in making a better life at home. This explains its focus on the themes of optimism and functionality, along with playful design. Now, these are visible in its stores, catalogues, and online touchpoints, along with all its key IKEA advertising campaigns.

One of the things that makes IKEA different is its capacity to share stories that can be relatable. The brand tends to focus on real-life homes, little living problems, and ingenious resolutions, which support its central idea that great design must be available to all. 

This emotional message is perfectly interwoven with the concepts of the IKEA marketing strategy that targets human behavior and not only the features of the product. IKEA maintains the story of authenticity, whether it displays the idea of multifunctional furniture in small apartments or the idea of exploring cultural peculiarities in local markets.

This consistency of narrative has had an implication on the overall IKEA marketing mix, whereby product design, price, store design, and message all reverberate the same theme: simple, cheap, and inspired. Although the brand is transitioning to a stronger IKEA digital marketing approach, it still has a very warm, humorous, and practical tone, the same way it is in the in-store experience, but in digital form.

Retaining this creative essence has helped IKEA to reinforce its global IKEA brand positioning without any alteration of the creative DNA. This strategy will be crucial in the context of the bigger IKEA marketing strategy, whereby wherever the customers may be when they see the brand, they are instantly aware of the combination of fun and functionalism. This predictability and emotional appeal are what make the IKEA marketing strategy effective not only in the short run but also in the long run, as the brand remains memorable, relatable, and creatively inspiring across the generations.

IKEA Digital Marketing Strategy

IKEA social media campaigns consist of making use of social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. to promote their products. IKEA's content marketing strategy involves creating engaging content for the customers. From their banners to their payment methods, it has creative elements that draw customers' interests.

IKEA Advertising Strategy

Apart from innovative design and cheap prices, IKEA uses things like “Chatbot” to gain deep insights into their customers’ behavior.
They also have an efficient packaging strategy for their products as well. This strategy helps them save a considerable amount of money and materials at the end of the day.

They give their customers a pleasant experience at their stores while they are shopping, be it the food court or designing the store like a maze. They are capable of increasing the shopping time of their customers. This leads to an increase in their sales.

IKEA likes to be updated with technological advancements. 

They like to apply these technologies to IKEA's marketing plan for the products. Recently they made use of AR and VR technology in their mobile app. Such usage of innovation is something that other companies can learn from IKEA.

IKEA Brand Strategy

IKEA brand power is a by-product of an unwavering strategy, which has been adjusted to be one of the most desirable retail brands in the world. The central message of the IKEA marketing strategy is that it aims at enriching the daily life of people by helping them through conveniently designed products.

IKEA brand positioning has been so robust that the name IKEA has been taken to mean furniture, and it is here that it can be seen that the firm has been successful in forming the perception of the consumer.

The greatest consideration of the IKEA marketing strategy is that it is democratic in its composition: the balance between the shape, functionality, quality, sustainability, and affordability to produce the items that can attract a large clientele.

The Scandinavian design philosophy is affordable and allows all people to live elegantly, which proves their customer-first philosophy.

 The immersive store layout of IKEA in the form of a one-way path through the spaces of the showrooms creates a sense of exploration and inspiration and transforms the process of shopping into an experience, not a duty.

The other strategy that IKEA has mastered is emotional branding by telling stories and making the store look like a home, which builds a personal connection with the clients. Together with the localization, sustainability, and digital transformation in the shape of AR-based technology, the IKEA marketing strategy is current and futuristic.

IKEA is gradually making progress to be the most popular furniture brand in the world with uniform global branding and a compelling value proposition.

Read our blog on Brand Marketing Strategy Guide  to know about all the essential terms and features of an effective brand strategy.

 

Ikea's marketing strategy and Channels

Website and Mobile Application Marketing 

An integral aspect of the IKEA marketing strategy that you must know is its smooth digital experience across both website and mobile app. 

You must remember that IKEA focuses heavily on fast load times and intuitive navigation, along with clean button placement. 

Now, this is to make sure users can browse effortlessly. Its thoughtful UI/UX design, supported by an intelligent chatbot, keeps customers engaged. So this takes place by offering quick answers and suggestions.

It also offers updates on new offers or seasonal promotions. This attention to detail highlights the brand’s consistency within the broad IKEA digital marketing strategy.

Another unique innovation of IKEA is its immersive 3D visualization tool. This helps shoppers to view furniture in their own homes. 

Therefore, this feature in a way enriches your creativity. At the same time, it helps the brand slowly promote lesser-known products. 

It does this by allowing users to imagine more complete room makeovers. Such digital enhancements strengthen the IKEA marketing strategy and elevate its overall IKEA advertising strategy, making online exploration both practical and inspiring—an essential pillar in the global IKEA marketing strategy.

Influencer Marketing and Cultural Collaborations

The influencer partnerships can be instrumental when it comes to complementing the IKEA marketing strategy because the corporation is not shy of using the cultural moments generated by digital creators.

IKEA often collaborates with a large number of local influencers. Along with upcoming artists and celebrities. This will allow the brand to stay in touch with the shifting trends. It will also help it remain consistent with its original IKEA brand positioning.

These partnerships are not planned to be overly slick but instead are a creativity of day-to-day life, and this authenticity of message and relatability makes the message seem authentic and approachable.

IKEA reaches pre-existing audiences by asking creators to remake its products or feature their homes. This increases the reach without pushing the story, which is a delicate tactic that fits in the overall IKEA marketing strategy fully.

These kinds of collaborations often lead to fresh discussions on the Internet, and user-generated content becomes natural, not artificial. This cultural relevance, in its turn, makes the effect of any IKEA advertising campaign stronger and provides the overall global IKEA marketing strategy with a better grip.

Content Marketing in IKEA's Marketing Strategy

IKEA has done a great job in the content marketing to motivate and educate its customers. Whether they are made to encourage brand promotion or education, IKEA creates interesting content for its audience, which includes product manuals, blog posts, and interactive videos.

The digital marketing approach of IKEA plays a significant role in the endeavors of the firm to tap into a global market, though the site may provide DIY projects, home improvement tips, and design ideas besides products.

Our blog, Content Optimization Strategies for Digital Marketing Success is here to guide you to become a pro at fascinating potential audiences and fulfill your objectives in content marketing. 

IKEA's SMM (Social Media Marketing)

Social media marketing of IKEA has great importance. IKEA is far more prolific in its communication with the customers in social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest with posts, videos and user-generated content. When they request customers to send them a picture of their home setup using IKEA products, they create a feeling of community and trust, through the creation of a program like the IKEAatHome.

At Ikea, they also use retargeting and channel advertising strategies to convert potential customers into actual customers. Region-specific social media campaigns are a key component of IKEA's global marketing strategy.

Here is our blog on Social Media Marketing Fundamentals for Business Growth to help you reach your target audiences through the use of effective and strategic social media marketing. 

IKEA's SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

IKEA has some of the best SEO strategies to naturally drive traffic towards their website. IKEA optimizes product descriptions, category pages, and blog posts with keywords for top search engine visibility. On top of that, IKEA is focusing on local SEO to deliver store locations and opening hours promos from Google My Business and other local directories to the hands of customers. IKEA's digital marketing strategy builds and reinforces those efforts with the help of cutting-edge analytics, APA (Advanced Positioning Algorithm).

SEO Optimization Tips is your easy guide to understanding the core SEO optimization techniques. It will also provide essential SEO tips that will truly help you in your digital marketing and content writing journey. 

Exceptional In-store Experience

A big core of IKEA's marketing strategy lies in in-store selling. IKEA stores are created to engage the customer in their showrooms with a specific store layout, immersion, and self-service. The store layout being like a maze sparks curiosity to explore more, and the in-store restaurants help in giving the complete shopping experience. IKEA improves its customer journey with AR and DEI-enabled self-checkout kiosks at digital tools integration. To adapt to changing consumer needs, IKEA Product Development Strategy keeps the innovations.

 

IKEA Marketing Strategy: 7 P’s Strategy.

The IKEA marketing mix (the 7 P's: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process, and Physical Evidence) is a constituent part of the IKEA marketing success. We shall break down each of these aspects to see how IKEA handles its product offerings, pricing policies, distribution, and promotional activities, among other aspects.

1) Product:

The IKEA strategy on products is based on the delivery of well-designed, functional, and affordable furniture and home accessories. They focus on simplicity. durability, and assemblability, which serves the requirements of a large number of customers.

2) Price:

IKEA is well known because of its pricing strategy, which is competitive. They provide a variety of products at different prices, and thus quality home furnishings are affordable to consumers with different budgets. This is their marketing with regard to pricing transparency.

3) Place:

The location strategy is an important aspect of the IKEA marketing. They have a strategic placement of their stores in busy places, mostly in the suburban regions of major cities. Their store design is such that it takes a customer on a carefully planned shopping process.

4) Promotion:

IKEA marketing strategy uses a combination of promotion strategy methods. They employ both the traditional advertising methods like television and the printed media as well as the electronic methods of marketing like social media and email marketing. They frequently promote themselves based on special promotions, seasonal campaigns, and sustainability campaigns.

5) People:

IKEA marketing strategy has recognized the significance of the people component. They have trained their employees to deliver quality customer care. They also offer guidance to the shoppers as they walk through the store and help them with their concerns. The people-centric feature is also emphasized by IKEA in their advertisement. Along with this, they include real families and people in their houses.

6) Process:

The distinctive shopping experience of IKEA, i.e., self-service mode-enabled pack furniture and in-store restaurants, belongs to the process-based marketing approach. They focus on effectiveness and convenience, and the shopping experience will be pleasant and unforgettable.

7) Physical Evidence:

The physical evidence of the IKEA marketing strategy is seen in their stores and products. The stores are intended to experience a sense of touch and the aesthetics of the room arrangements, visual merchandise, and even the scent of Swedish food in the air. Their products are also another physical testimony to their excellence in quality and design.

By taking into consideration the manner in which IKEA tactically implements these 7 P's in their marketing mix, we can understand how the company considers the entirety of their marketing mix as a tactic to ensure that their products and brand are appealing to the consumer as a unique and winning marketing strategy.

 

Marketing Goals and Strategies of IKEA.

The marketing objectives of IKEA are in line with its mission of offering affordable and sustainable home furnishings. Its policies involve its never-ending product innovation and openness in pricing along with social responsibility. These strategies will help us know how the IKEA marketing strategy remains competitive in an ever-transforming market scenario.

It is one of the main aims of IKEA to make well-designed products. Products that are functional and available to as many people as possible. This value of affordability is one of the foundations of its strategy.

 

Ikea's Marketing Channels

Establish a Smooth and Engaging Brand Experience:

The marketing channels of IKEA collaborate to establish a smooth and engaging brand experience, which is one of the pillars of the overall IKEA marketing strategy. 

Through the digitization of platforms, the traditional media, and the experience of being in-store, IKEA can make sure that the customer is exposed to a unified, entertaining identity at each point of contact. 

The omnichannel strategy reinforces brand awareness and reinforces the role of IKEA as a home furnishing global leader.

Strong Digital Presence :

A key element of the IKEA marketing strategy is its strong digital presence. IKEA creates a high level of emotional and creative interaction via visual-based social media content, influencer partnerships, local campaigns, and user-generated content, including the viral hashtag #IKEAatHome.

Its online shop and mobile application also contribute to making it convenient, as it provides smooth shopping, individual offers, and loyalty privileges via IKEA Family

 The content marketing, through the SEO-driven blogs, YouTube video Home Tour, and how-to manuals, strengthens the connection with customers and makes IKEA a source of inspiration.

Cultural Value and Nostalgic Bond:

The traditional channels are also not negligible. The iconic IKEA catalog and the TV ads in the regions are cultural and nostalgic and contribute to brand recognition. 

The experience of marketing in-store is realized by the design of showrooms, interactive devices, workshops, and design guidance by the staff, which makes home furnishings accessible and entertaining.

Finally, IKEA marketing strategy is based on the system of integration and omnichannel, which incorporates both global consistency and local relevance. This is a combined strategy that will make customers feel the value-based, creative brand story on all platforms, making the IKEA marketing strategy effective all over the world.

 

Challenges and Solutions in IKEA Marketing Strategy

Even such a leader in the industry as IKEA faces strong difficulties in the world market. The business needs to keep up with the changing expectations of consumers, intensification of competition, and environmental issues. The difference with IKEA, though, is that it can react creatively and responsively—which are the traits of the success of the IKEA marketing strategy.

The unwillingness of consumers to embrace the ready-to-assemble concept is one of the first and most important challenges that IKEA faced. Shoppers in most markets were used to fully assembled furniture and high-level participation by the salespeople. 

The low involvement of in-store personnel at IKEA brought about confusion, and the customers were at first unsure of whether to assemble products or not. This was a force against change that reduced the global impact of IKEA in its initial years.

It was in the slow and planned transformation of the consumer behavior that the solution was found—a strategy that was adopted as one of the keystones of the IKEA marketing strategy. 

IKEA did not bombard customers with the concept of ready-to-assemble but gradually introduced the concept, informing the audience with the help of catalogs, store arrangements, and easy-to-follow product instructions. Slowly, IKEA trained the idea of DIY and incorporated it into the company, as it became a source of pride of affordability and convenience.

This customer-oriented strategy demonstrates that IKEA marketing strategy is effective in transforming the challenges into opportunities. IKEA has created long-term loyalty since it adapts to consumer needs and guides them through the unfamiliar concepts.

The shift in preference of the customers towards the brand today is one of the most effective pieces of evidence on the IKEA marketing strategy in action.

 

Learning about IKEA Market Segmentation.

IKEA has perfected the market segmentation trick where it presents its products and marketing messages to other consumer groups. Having the knowledge of its market segments, we can marvel at the way in which IKEA targets different market segments, such as low-income customers and ecologically conscious consumers.

The market segmentation will allow IKEA to offer a personalized experience to customers. We shall look at how this personalization and targeting has seen it emerge as a market leader

So why is the marketing of IKEA so successful?

Several factors, such as unique value proposition, sustainability, and customer-centricity, can be listed as the reasons behind the success of IKEA in the sphere of marketing. We will examine these success factors in detail to identify the reason behind IKEA being a unique company in the market.

The marketing success of IKEA is not achieved in any single dimension but rather in the fact that it managed to combine several strategies and values into one unified and powerful brand story. We will unpack this story to show what indeed makes IKEA so special.

Reference

The information was taken from
IKEA’s own about page
IKEA Harvard Case Solution & Analysis from thecasesolutions.com
IKEA marketing strategy: 7 tactics and takeaways from brafton.com

 

Conclusion

Now you have come to the end of this article, which focuses on marketing strategy for IKEA and is relevant to all those who are trying to start their own businesses and also the general populace, who can get inspiration from IKEA’s success story.

Our team at Sprintzeal will keep you informed with our blog posts such as this one. Let us be your guide and teacher in your journey to success. So if you are interested in digital marketing or want to start your career, you can begin by enrolling in our Digital marketing program. When you learn the basics, you will be able to understand the true genius of IKEA. You will also get a clear conceptual idea of their marketing strategy. Subscribe to our newsletters with valuable information and insights directly to your inbox. This will help you save time and keep you informed.

Research Details

Our team at Sprintzeal has referred to 2 case studies, and the time for research was 9 hours. We tried to make this article as concise as possible. The reader should be able to get an idea of IKEA's marketing strategy after reading this article.

 

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions on IKEA Marketing Strategy)

What are the marketing strategies IKEA uses?

IKEA uses a mix of strategies. This includes : affordability, sustainability as well as innovative product design. It also uses experiential in-store marketing and a strong online presence. This is to reach and engage its target audience.

What is the marketing concept of IKEA?

The core marketing concept at IKEA focuses on offering well-designed, affordable, as well as sustainable home furnishings. It also creates a unique shopping experience for customers.

What is the competitive advantage of IKEA?

IKEA's competitive advantage is its ability to combine affordability and quality, alongside sustainability and innovative design ; as it provides a unique and customer-centric in-store experience.

What are the 7 Ps of IKEA?

Product, place, price promotion, people, processes, and physical evidence.

What is IKEA's global marketing strategy?

The global marketing strategy of IKEA includes : 

1. Cost-efficient products
2. Strong branding, 
3. Digitalised communication channels 
4. Sustainable solutions and omnichannel.

What is IKEA's strategy in India?

No price pressure, local sourcing, small-format stores, online penetration, and customizing for an Indian touch.