Ikea has adapted its model in order to trade from much smaller branches, dubbed order and collection points.

IKEA, unlike some big-box retailers, has no problem with excess space. The opposite is the case.

In the 29 years that it has operated in the UK, Ikea has only been able to open 19 sheds. The most recent, in Reading, was the first in seven years.

But the same phenomenon that poses problems for retailers such as the big grocers, who have been forced to seek new uses for space in stores, has provided Ikea with opportunity – and that phenomenon, the rise of digital commerce.

It has allowed Ikea to adapt its model and trade from much smaller branches, dubbed order and collection points.

Order and collection

This Wednesday the retailer will open an order and collection point in one of its most high profile locations yet – Westfield Stratford City.

It’s the fourth branch of its type. Rather than holding stock, it is designed to enable Ikea to offer its range for order, collection or delivery, to shoppers who would otherwise find it more difficult to buy from the retailer.

One of the branches already open, Aberdeen, graphically illustrates that. Before it opened, shoppers would have had to have travelled to Glasgow or Edinburgh to visit a big Ikea store.

The fact that a customer making a big purchase might make several research visits before deciding to buy – necessitating a journey of several hours – illustrates the scale of the challenge facing both the shopper keen to purchase and the retailer keen to conclude a transaction.

As well as allowing consumers to browse Ikea’s entire range online, the format, vitally, enables Ikea staff to provide expert advice to consumers about which products are right for them – which of course makes a sale more likely.

In the case of Westfield, Ikea’s 900sq m shop gives it potential access to 47m people who visit the mall every year.

Big box, little box…

Ikea in the past might almost have been seen as the ultimate big-box player.

However it has proved fleet of foot and come up with a format that satisfies changing consumer habits and allows it to overcome the problems it has had in the UK finding suitable properties for its traditional stores.

The only downside about the Westfield branch, unlike the other order and collect locations, is that you can’t get the retailer’s famous meatballs…

PS, Did you know that worldwide, Ikea sells one of its Billy bookcases every 10 seconds?