Hay tres cosas que la mayoría de las personas asocian con este gigante sueco: muebles lindos, modernos y que puedes armar easily, que tienen precios asequibles, y poder comer algunas de sus clásicas albóndigas o “meatballs” o tomarte un café sin tener que salir Store. It is part of that unique journey that the customer can take through IKEA hallways and floors, built with a fascinating design that takes you through a visual and sensory journey.

When IKEA first opened in Älmhult in 1958, many were skeptical of opening a large furniture store in a small town in the middle of the Swedish woods. But it turned out that people were willing to travel long distances to visit the showroom and buy beautiful and functional furniture at good prices. Customers could for the first time touch and feel the furniture that would dress their home before placing an order, it was a new experience. And it is still valid.

As soon as you enter the department store installed in the Open Kenny shopping center in Las Condes – the first to open in South America – you are immersed in a forest of ideas, scenes that make you imagine what the furniture would look like in your house. . The store design is designed in such a way that it does not allow you to leave the store until you have seen almost all the products on display.

As soon as you step through the entrance, you are greeted by a classic, typical IKEA signature yellow bag, so – as you progress and become inspired by the experience of trying and feel the items – you can buy what you like the most. The products are cataloged in two groups: those with a yellow label – those that are bigger and need help – and those with a red label – which you can find on the tempting second floor in the section home decor.

Marita Marante, operations and customer experience manager at IKEA Chile, Colombia and Peru, explains that the brand has three fundamental long-term priorities: making life easier in small spaces, helping you organize your life and, finally, life with children. . How then to get them out of this experience? Impossible, the little ones are also in the game. First with a section intended for them, with articles that meet their needs, contribute to their development and present no danger. A space in which, in addition, they can also live the experience of trying and smelling stuffed animals, games and much more. And secondly, if you want to shop in peace, there is a nursery for them, Småland. It is inspired by the forests where its founder, Ingvar Kamprad, grew up. As expected, all very well designed and very safe for children.

As we said before, part of the essence of this brand is that people can access good and beautiful products, but they are also cheap. For this reason, in each section of IKEA you will find badges that will tell you which product has the lowest price.

The whole layout of the store is a guided and sequential journey through the different spaces of the house. While making this journey through cues such as projected light arrows, there are many things playing with the emotional part of the brain. Because of course, there is a connection that people feel with a piece of furniture or an object that you don’t see individually in a window, but that you contemplate as a whole, you imagine it dressing your interior. Also try it, open the closet, lie on a pillow, sit on the chair or enjoy a sofa.

IKEA restaurants have been part of stores since the 1960s. The original idea of ​​starting to serve food in a furniture store was born simply as a way to not let customers be scared off by hunger. So, if you want, you can go to bistro for a coffee and some Cinnamon brioches –which, in case you didn’t know, are originally from Sweden–, or in a restaurant to eat a classic Swedish dish like Meatballs or local preparations.

It is because these spaces have an important role in the experience. For starters, if you’re tired of browsing the aisles at IKEA, you can go rest, analyze your potential purchases, and make decisions without even leaving the store. Maybe we even make better choices without hunger and thus we are happier, because as we say here in Chile, “full güatita, happy heart”.

When you checkout, you can pick up some items immediately, like those on the floor home decor. There are others, such as sofas, furniture or kitchens that have a delivery service and will come to your home.

And for most people to enjoy the IKEA experience, you’ll find them not only in physical stores that will open in Chile, but also online. And it won’t be a regular experience either. Browsing their site also respects the rule of being able to imagine in the most precise way what your home will look like with IKEA products, in addition to sharing a lot of inspiring content for those who want to buy throughout mainland Chile.