Swedish furniture giant IKEA is changing products, services and investments to be more competitive and relevant in the digital age. They are in the midst of a digital transformation that should make the company more appealing to a broader customer base. From AR apps that allow customers to “try” products in their home to the Space10 innovation lab, IKEA recognizes they must adapt to what consumers want and need in the future.

1. The Amazing
Digital Transformation Of IKEA:
Virtual Reality, Apps & Self-Driving Cars

2. © 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
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IntroductionIntroduction
When you look at the changes Swedish furniture giant IKEA is implementing in its
operations, it’s clear that they aren’t satisfied with the status quo.
In fact, they are making bold moves to make their business more attractive to
consumers in the digital age with services and products that are designed to
match the lifestyles and needs of consumers in the future.
While many of these actions are in preliminary stages, they do indicate IKEA is
transforming into a tech company.
The Amazing Digital Transformation of IKEA:
Virtual Reality, Apps & Self-Driving Cars

3. © 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
IKEA’s Enhanced Digital Offerings
One of the joys (OK, absolute frustrations) of IKEA furniture is the DIY assembly.
When IKEA acquired TaskRabbit, a platform that allows consumers to connect to
individuals who will assemble their IKEA furniture, it gave its customers a way to
avoid the DIY trauma. Although you can do it yourself, the company now markets
“you don’t have to.”
Another thing customers had come to expect from IKEA was traveling through its
large, blue warehouses and visiting the kitchens, bathroom and living rooms to
find the products you want to buy.
However, with the IKEA Place app and its augmented reality you can “try” out
different furniture in your home before you decide what to purchase.

4. © 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
IKEA’s Enhanced Digital Offerings
This app has been downloaded 2 million times and been widely used. The
company has plans to determine how to consolidate their different apps to allow
customers to browse their catalogue, plan store visits and virtually decorate from
one app.
Digital technologies are expected to allow IKEA to reach more customers in a
more cost-effective way than building new stores and paying high real estate
prices.

5. © 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Smart Products and Self-Driving Cars
In addition to digital offerings to enhance the customer experience, IKEA is
developing products, services and strategies to compete in the future. They have
begun to offer products to outfit a smart home such as speakers and smart plugs.
Reviews of these smart plugs indicate they aren’t as sophisticated or reliable as
others on the market, but it’s an important step that the company has entered the
smart home market.
IKEA plans to have a zero-emission delivery fleet in select locations by 2020 and in
all markets worldwide in 2025. It’s also possible to envision how customers might
be able to request an autonomously driven mobile showroom to come to their
location with furniture they are interested in seeing for an entirely new take on
shopping from home.

6. © 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Smart Products and Self-Driving Cars
Rather than a customer self-hauling purchases, self-driving trucks might deliver
purchases to customers. The company is also looking ahead to how fully
autonomous vehicles will change how interiors and exteriors of cars will be
designed.
What we now believe are must-have amenities for cars will not necessarily be the
case in a future with self-driving cars. When vehicles become fully autonomous
passengers might want very different amenities in the vehicle to support the
activities they will be able to do instead of driving such as a mobile office or
entertainment on the go.
IKEA’s expertise in small-space living and cost-effective home furnishings could
translate very effectively into autonomous vehicles. So far, the company doesn’t
plan to start building autonomous cars; they will leave that task to others.

7. © 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Space10 Innovation Lab
Space10 is IKEA’s research hub and exhibition space launched in 2015 that brings
together designers, artists and technologists to innovate tomorrow’s new products
and solutions.
From developing autonomous urban farming to upcycling products and materials
into other uses, and autonomous vehicle design to 3D printed meatballs and
more, Space10 is churning and testing out ideas that might make it to an IKEA
catalog in the not-too-distant future.
The goal of Space10 and its partners is to create better and more sustainable ways
of living. Space10’s concepts for autonomous vehicles including a shopping car,
coffee car, hotel car and grocery car, can be viewed through augmented reality on
Space10’s app.

8. © 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Space10 Innovation Lab
These steps to transform into a technology company show IKEA’s commitment to
stay relevant and competitive in the future. The company’s technology
commitment will allow them to reach a broader and younger consumer base
including urban dwellers. IKEA’s traditional business model that required shopping
at a warehouse and hauling merchandise to their homes for self-assembly was
never a viable option for urban dwellers. Through Space10 and tech acquisitions,
IKEA is investing in a future that will demand new products, services and interfaces
to attract customers and remain competitive.

9. © 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website
© 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
© 2018 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website

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