Revolutionizing The Furniture Game: IKEA’s Tech Driven Innovation

Nick Ducheine
Marketing in the Age of Digital
3 min readJul 22, 2024

I remember the excitement that I used to feel when my Mom would tell us we were taking a trip to IKEA. The amazing bedroom layouts, interesting furniture pieces, and best of all the mouth watering cinnamon buns always captivated me. It’s only right that I give them their kudos for the amazing success they've had using the newest tech innovations to enhance the customer experience. Both their artificial intelligence and augmented reality have been very beneficial; and now they are rolling out a new generative AI to help customers while designing their dream home.

How Are They Utilizing Generative AI?

Just like how some people use AI to help with assignments, writing emails, or even replying to their crush; IKEA is changing the way we look at designing a home. You are able to use the generative AI to erase existing furniture and replace it with new items to get an idea of the look and feel that can be achieved. All you have to do is take a quick scan of the area and a vast array of design options are at your disposal.

You are also able to interact with the AI by telling it specific styles you like, color schemes, and even how much you want to spend. IKEA has found a great way to streamline the process of designing any space you desire. Honestly I might just crack open a nice bottle of wine and start redesigning my apartment when I get bored.

IKEA Hit A Bullseye With Their Marketing Objectives

  1. Enhancing Customer Engagement: This new AI provides a shopping experience that is highly personalized, which increasing customer satisfaction and engagement. The ability to ask specific questions about IKEA’s catalog, receive images of relevant products, and even get direct links to checkout pages makes shopping so easy a caveman can do it; sorry Geico they got you beat.
  2. Operational Efficiency: IKEA is also investing their resources into training over 3,000 employees and 500 leaders in AI literacy. This ensures that the workforce can effectively use and manage AI tools. Which is very reassuring to customers who may need help navigating this system. This training improves operational efficiency and aligns with IKEA’s ethical standards​.
  3. Market Expansion: Nowadays AI seems to be all anyone can talk about in regards to tech, so making the AI assistant available on a subscription basis in the U.S. is a major power play. They also plan to expand to other markets demonstrating a strategic approach to broadening its reach while adapting to new technological trends​.

Is This Worth Investing In?

“If” I was a betting man I would throw the house on this revolutionary technology. You are greatly increasing your operational efficiency while providing your customers great ease to a once stressful process. Instead of having to design your home by trial and error, you can now get a very detailed idea of what the space will look like before purchasing anything. IKEA’s focus on enhancing AI capabilities and expanding this application across markets shows major growth potential, gaining the Ducheine’s investment guide stamp of approval.

Well Done IKEA!

To recap it all, IKEA’s integration of generative AI is a significant leap in enhancing customer experience. By providing personalized design recommendations and realistic visualizations, IKEA has successfully increased customer engagement and satisfaction. The company’s comprehensive AI literacy training for employees ensures ethical and effective use of this technology. IKEA’s continuous development of AI tools helps them stay at the forefront of retail innovation. If only their AI could generate those amazing cinnamon buns then life would be complete!

--

--

Nick Ducheine
Marketing in the Age of Digital

A young professional getting my Masters in Integrated Marketing at NYU where I currently work as an Events & Marketing manager for the Athletics department.