Chinese IKEA Shoppers Eat and Nap, But Don’t Necessarily Buy

Anybody who visits IKEA on a weekend in China will be sure to find the familiar scene of customers napping on the couches and beds. And if you stop by the popular IKEA cafeteria, you almost certainly will have to wait around before a table opens up. Following up on our previous coverage, we now take a deeper look at Chinese consumers reaction to IKEA.

Opening their first store ten years ago, IKEA has become a popular place for the rising middle class to spend their freetime, but they are not necessarily buying the furniture. In our experience, Chinese customers are not always impressed with the quality of the furniture in IKEA, but do appreciate the modern, simple look that seems to fit a rising social status. Driving from hours away, customers will plan out a day of eating, browsing, napping and dreaming of a future home.  IKEA puts up with the loitering behaviour as an investment in future sales when these customers have more consumption power.

The LA Times has interviewed store management and customers who come through the Beijing stores. One 25 year old graduate explains her motivations for visiting IKEA: “Our values are changing, we want to be modern. I think IKEA stands for a kind of lifestyle. People don’t necessarily want to buy it, but they want to at least experience it.”