IKEA
[NOT JUST FOR CITY DWELLERS]
How do you uncover an entirely new customer base for modern, affordable Swedish furniture?
A mobile home in the South is about as far away as you can get from a big city apartment, but that is exactly where we started.
We exposed ourselves to real southern living. What they ate. What they drove. And most importantly, where they lived. We set out to listen and watch.
Ikea was a complete unknown to them. Most of their homes were decorated with furniture from Walmart, Costco, or local shops.
How could they get past the idea that this furniture was “too modern” or “too fancy”?
As a way to unmask their thinking, we asked them to identify one room in their home that they would want to change, and we gave them a budget to shop at a new Ikea store nearby. We captured their first exposure to the store and shopping experience.
A few weeks later, we revisited them to see if there had been any changes to their home life with the new room.
The results were fascinating.
One family noticed a change in their children’s willingness to “hang out” together in the family’s new “game room”.
One of our respondents rekindled a relationship with her sister because she was not as embarrassed to have guests over.
Another family became the playdate destination for schoolmates because the toys were stored neatly in colorful bins that the kids could easily access and put away.
We were able to inform on these experiences delivering deep insights around creating spaces where families can thrive and grow.
Lowdown finds a place where families thrive.