Who enjoys shopping in IKEA? (18 Jan 2011)

UCL Lunch Hour Lecture: Who enjoys shopping in IKEA?

Professor Alan Penn (UCL Bartlett School of Architecture)

Professor Alan Penn describes the way that architects use space to sell you things, showing how space creates patterns of movement, bringing you into contact with goods. In IKEA though, the story gets more interesting, here the designers deliberately set out to confuse you, drawing you into buying things that are not on your shopping list.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• UCL Lunch Hour Lectures
• Alan Penn
• Bartlett
• Ikea

[UCLLHL]

Thanks for sharing the lecture. Any comments from your Art History Class would be great

[moniniful]

I want to use this video as a reference for an assignment. can you please tell me the exact date of the lecture? pretty pls ;;)

[UCLLHL]

@moniniful Great news that you are referencing a UCL Lunch Hour Lecture in your assignment. The date of the lecture was 18 Jan 2011.

[swedishnitro]

@theknightlynews @theknightlynews IKEA's shops are the physical embodiment of their brand strategy, so yes, the space definitely helps drive sales, but it's still one part of their overall activity system. Michel Porter writes about this in the paper 'What is Strategy', Nov. 1996 Harvard Business Review

[theknightlynews]

@bennicus sorry to tell you this, but if that were true, every store would be laid out like IKEA, which was the crux of the matter. They aren't. Every store tries, to some extent, to get you to spend money. So what? But the shopper can just turn around and walk out without any confusion and the exit process would take mere seconds. Only IKEA is set up in this unique rat's maze to prevent that.

[bennicus]

@theknightlynews Sorry to be the one to tell you this, but any business that advertises at all (even a simple display in a shop) is treating you "like a rat in a psychology experiment", but it just so happens that somone has done a presentation about Ikea's methods in particular.

[theknightlynews]

I resent IKEA for treating me like a rat in a psychology experiment. And for wasting my time. I want to go immediately to the area I need, and go immediately to the checkout. IKEA prevents this. And they prevent it because they think they can trick me into buying other junk I didn't come there for if only they can expose me to everything else they sell. IKEA is Swedish for trick.

[Ladybugpcp]

great lecture, sharing it with a art history class. Thanks

[spazzing]

Is it Ikea's fault that people can't control their impulses? Obviously Ikea is benefitting from it, but if you're an adult and can't control yourself well that's your problem. It's rather silly to say it's reeeally hard to navigatge when they have the info stations that have maps, pencils and measuring tapes and exit shortcuts. So the designers purposely confuse you, if you're bothered by it, don't go or get a map. They also have good return policies if you have buyer's remorse.