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Ikea Pop-Up Store Connects Shoppers With Sensors
- Internet Retailer, Thursday, June 2, 2016 9:05 AM
Swedish home furnishings retailer Ikea this month opened a temporary, highly digital, kitchen-focused store. The goal, the retailer says, is to challenge visitors to rethink how they look at food and cooking. The store, which Ikea Canada is operating for two weeks on a highly trafficked corner in downtown Toronto, features about 50 products. But there are no handbaskets or carts. Instead, when consumers enter the pop-up shop, a staff member hands them a wooden spoon with a RFID chip embedded in it, explains the store concept and provides instructions on how to shop. If a shopper wants to purchase an item on display, she taps the spoon to a sensor on the shelf, and it is added to her order. Products included pitchers, plastic popsicle molds and other food-oriented products. (Yes, bags of Ikea’s frozen Swedish meatballs were available, too.
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